


Discovered (Marvel Imagine)

by qandnoa



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-01 06:09:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 37,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16759471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qandnoa/pseuds/qandnoa
Summary: Morgan is a mutant who was born with an ability that has been kept hidden all her life. She goes to New York to visit a college, intending to be there for at most a week, when New York is attacked by Loki and his Chitauri army. Being ignorant to the going ons of New York and their famous heroes, she doesn't realize who the people fighting against these aliens are, since all her life she thought she was the only one that was different from normal humans.





	1. Discovered

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Based on the movie - The Avengers (2012)
> 
> This is my first ever fan fiction! Though I originally posted this on my Tumblr account, my sister (who is also my editor) recommended that I use this site to post my works as well! I don't know how well I'll do and any feedback/comments are deeply appreciated and welcomed!!!
> 
> Also, my sister disliked my constant use of [Y/N] instead of a proper name for the main character (since I was intending the MC to be a character that the readers could personify themselves as). If you all prefer [Y/N] instead of a random name (I'm not creative when it comes to names), then you can find me on Tumblr! I'll keep using [Y/N] on that account while change it on this one :)
> 
> A little bit about me: I am a college student so I may be busy at times, but I'll try to post regularly! If I do well on this site, I'll prioritize this account over Tumblr (so you'll get a sneak peak at the latest updates)!
> 
> This is my first time using AO3 so please go easy on me~!

Morgan Nite was pretty new to the Avengers, both the team and the people.

Before the New York incident with Loki and his Chitauri army, Morgan had no idea who Tony Stark, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, or Hawkeye were. She didn’t even know who S.H.I.E.L.D. was! Morgan never really kept up with the news and often got shocked responses whenever she asked who a certain famous celebrity was.

Of course, some names did sound familiar to her, since she did hear them from time to time, but they never really stuck until one day a gaping hole had ripped open in the sky. Now _that_ was hard to miss, even for Morgan.

The first thing Morgan did when she saw the strange and terrifying creatures emerge from what could only be a portal was call her family. Rather than flee for her life like everyone else around her did, she made sure that the people she loved were safe. Given that they didn’t live in New York, since Morgan was just touring around a potential college campus that week, they were perfectly fine back in California.

“What’s going on?” Morgan’s sister laughed on the other line, putting the phone on speaker so the rest of the family could hear.

“Oh, nothing much,” Morgan answered, when a deafening scream pierced her ear. People began to scatter, left and right, nearly knocking her over as they tried to get away from the oncoming army. Immediately, her family worried about the situation.

“What was that?!” Morgan’s mother demanded, bringing the phone closer to her ear.

“Sorry,” Morgan replied, her brain working overtime to try to think up a believable lie, “I just passed by a club. It seems to be getting wild in there!”

With that, her family’s worries were appeased and she quickly said goodbye before hanging up the phone. Morgan didn’t like her family worrying about her, especially when she could take care of herself just fine. They would eventually learn about it later, hopefully through Morgan’s own mouth, but for now they didn’t have to needlessly worry.

The alien army, the only thing those creatures could possibly be, were gradually making its way towards where Morgan stood. Glancing around for a safe place to hide, she noticed about four children crying as they huddled around something. Rushing over to see what was going on, avoiding the panicked people that were in a frenzy for survival, Morgan finally saw why they refused to move from where they gathered.

A woman, who was knocked unconscious, lay motionless on the ground. There was no indication that the aliens had already made it here, so Morgan could only surmise that she had fallen and hit her head from the oncoming traffic of people. It wasn’t uncommon in times of chaos.

“Stop crying and help her get on my shoulders!” Morgan demanded to the small children.

The oldest one immediately knew what to do, snapping out from shock, and struggled to get his mother onto Morgan’s back. The others followed suit of their older brother and soon the woman’s full weight was on Morgan.

With a heave, she stood up and quickly scanned where they should be heading. A crash resounded near them and Morgan knew she was out of time.

“Follow me!” She instructed as she bolted away from the explosion. There wasn’t much time to think so the first priority was to get them all to safety.

The children rushed to her side, all of them scared for their own lives and the life of their mother. The younger two, one boy and one girl, were struggling to keep up but with the heavy weight on Morgan’s shoulders, her speed matched those of the small children. In the distance, she could hear the authorities calling through their portable speakers, instructing people on where to go for shelter. Police cars were littering the roads as the other officers pointed their guns to the oncoming army or robotic men. With an injured and unconscious woman, Morgan knew that they should head to wherever the police were gathering.

As the small group advanced towards the cluster of police, something flew above them at an astonishing speed. The screams of the people drowned out the speaker’s sound and Morgan looked up to find two aliens standing on some sort of hovering vehicle, eyeing all of the people in a way that sent chills up Morgan’s spine. It pointed its glowing arm at the panicking people, gun that was fused to it humming with energy.

_Help… We need help!_ Morgan thought to herself as she began to sweat.

Protecting herself was not a problem. With her abilities, she could easily get out of this alive. But she had an injured woman on her. There were children that were clinging to her, shaking at the horrible creatures that were eyeing them like they were nothing but ants in their path.

Morgan set the unconscious woman down, as gently as she could, before turning her back to the aliens and hugging the children.

“Get to safety. There’s a police officer who should be able to help you carry your mother,” she whispered, knowing that the clock was ticking, “I’ll deal with the monster.”

Morgan gave her most reassuring smile before turning back towards the alien who was joined by more of its comrades. They were already starting to terrorize the people and Morgan checked behind her once more before she jumped into the fray.

Warm energy surged through her as she tapped into her hidden powers. A small voice within spoke of its worries about revealing the secret she had kept hidden for so long, but the situation ahead silenced it.

She lunged, reaching out her hands as the energy exploded from her palms and hit one of the aliens, knocking them off of their strange alien vehicle. The odd technology, unprepared for the sudden attack, quickly lost control and was about to crash onto the people below. They hollered and screamed, some praying their last wishes while some fainting at the imminent doom. With a flick of her wrist, the energy within Morgan held onto the object and with a heave it hurtled towards the other aliens.

The two vehicles collided, cracking with the force that Morgan had put into it. With no time to think and just going on instinct alone, she rushed to where the aliens had fallen, avoiding the stream of people who hurried to get away from the danger they faced. It was too chaotic for anyone to completely comprehend what had just happened and the only thought on their minds were to get them and their loved ones to safety.

Before the two surviving aliens could draw their weapons, which glowed a faint blue color, Morgan gathered her power once more. She struggled, her hands slowly being forced apart as if she were tearing a large, invisible book in half. With all her might, Morgan let out a grunt as her hands flew outward. The alien before her, felt its body mimic Morgan’s actions and struggled against the force before being ripped in two. The other lunged after her, no fear or contempt in its eyes.

The machine-like creature missed as she dodged and moved her arm as if she were throwing something. One of the pieces of the fallen alien hurtled after the attacking machine and the two knocked into one another with enough power to permanently bring the standing one down.

Morgan dusted herself off as she finally found time to gather her surroundings. First, she looked to the four children and the collapsed mother, relieved to see an officer helping the woman and the kids get to a safe place. Then, she noticed an unfamiliar man, who seemed to be drawing the other oncoming aliens’ attention. He fought vigorously as he fended off the continuous onslaught.

He wore mostly blue and Morgan could see a letter “A” plastered onto the forehead of his masking helmet, obscuring his identity. Though she would have found him suspicious if this were any other day, him protecting the people was all Morgan needed to know that he was one of the good guys.

Feeling eyes on him, he turned to where Morgan stood, his eyes widening when he saw several aliens damaged and destroyed around her. Noticing his attention, Morgan quickly acted frightened and confused as tears welled up in her eyes. Morgan’s identity was vital to her and her strange abilities would definitely wind her up in some scientist’s lab if given the chance. Not even her family knew her secret and she intended to keep it that way.

“Are you alright?” The man called, fighting off the continuous stream of aliens while talking to Morgan.

It amazed her that he didn’t seem to be breaking much of a sweat, even though he was fending off several aliens at once, but the sound of a gun charging to fire distracted her as she noticed an alien aim at the exposed back of the blue man while he kept an eye on her.

His eyes followed her’s but he reacted too late as the ray shot out at him. Morgan quickly flicked her wrist again and the ray was knocked off its trajectory and hit another alien that lunged for the stranger. The energy within her calmed, the immediate danger avoided, as he took this opportunity to throw the red, white, and blue circular shield at the firing alien, knocking it down with one swift blow. Like a boomerang, it returned to the blue man and he turned to Morgan with questioning eyes.

She looked back at him, pretending to be baffled at all that was happening, when another explosion caught both their attentions. The majority of the crowd in the area had fled to the safety of the subways and were off the streets, some staggering through the rubble to follow suit. His job here seemed to be done and was about to head off for another area of danger when a large creature seemed to almost swim in the air above the two.

A red figure flew through the air, bombarding the large, metallic creature with what seemed to be missiles. Rubble fell from the sky, falling onto Morgan as she tried to get away from the potential dangers that loomed overhead.

Distracted, Morgan turned back to the blue figure but he was gone. As she was about to breathe out a sigh of relief, large arms wrapped around her and picked her up. Startled, Morgan was about to fight back when she realized that it was the blue man that had begun to carry her like a princess while running to the direction of the nearest subway entrance.

“P-put me down!” She exclaimed, knowing full well that if she entered the authorities would prevent her from leaving. Morgan knew that her powers would be useful in this battle and though it was extremely dangerous, she still wanted to fight.

“Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to remain calm,” the man answered. It surprised her how easily he seemed to move with the full weight of her in his arms. In fact, it seemed as though he wasn’t even tired or out of breath!

“I am calm!” Morgan exclaimed, “I can get there on my own!”

The subway was a few feet away, a bit further from where the center of the battle occurred, and the continuous explosions and racket seemed to draw his attention away from her and back to where his friends were most likely fighting.

“Hey! I can walk you know.” Morgan huffed as she struggled in his arms. “Besides, you look like you have more important things to deal with!”

He eyed her with visible worry and she gave him the same smile she had given the frightened children.

“I’ll be fine. Go.”

And with that, he nodded and put her down. Without wasting another second he made his way back to where his team was, though Morgan had no idea how a human man could be so agile. His nimble feet carried him further and further away towards the center of all the chaos.

Morgan’s body shimmered as the air around her began to bend to her will. Wrapped in an invisible cloak of air that hid her from sight, Morgan bound after the American man. She smiled at her own nickname for the stranger, thinking his color scheme matched the American flag quite nicely.

She was much slower compared to him, but along the way she tore through as many unsuspecting aliens as she could. This made her feel a bit more useful as she continued towards the heated battle.

In no time she reached the American Man and saw him with two other people, both of which were unmasked. The two were dressed in dark clothing, one woman and one male. The red-headed female fought off her attackers with such grace and fierce force as she masterfully made use of the spear she must have stolen from one of the fallen aliens. The man, on the other hand, trusted the two with his life as he withdrew his attention from the field and aimed his arrows at the sky. The three performed beautifully together and Morgan was mesmerized by their teamwork, as if this fight were all choreographed.

Thunder rumbled above her and lightning struck down at the aliens surrounding the three who fought valiantly. The sudden burst snapped her out of her trance and she looked up to find a red caped man descending from the sky.

This new comer looked at the others who weren’t surprised by his sudden arrival, signalling that they were on the same team. He had golden hair that fell to his shoulders and a hammer that fit nicely in his muscular hands. A well built, beautiful man who could tug at the hearts of many women, but she quickly dismissed the thought.

Morgan waited patiently as they were updated by the blond man and gathered to catch their breath. They looked up at the red machine as it flew above them, indicating that whatever that thing was, it was also part of their team.

Eavesdropping more on their conversation, though unable to make out all the words, it seemed that the blue man was the leader and took charge of his team. As they went through their battle plan, Morgan heard a motor in the distance and turned as she saw yet another person joining them, his appearance the most normal of them all.

Their talk was cut short as the red machine began to make its way to the group, behind it that very large creature close on its heels. It demolished a building as if it was nothing, moving like a fish and swimming faster towards its target. As the monster drew closer, the normal man turned his back to the team and faced it head on. His fair skin rapidly turned green and his size increased dramatically, ripping through the large shirt he had on. The green creature growled as it slammed its fist into the oncoming monster, crushing its metallic skull while being forced back by the size of the alien.

It progressively broke apart from the shock of the punch of the green man and was dangerously tilting towards the rest of the group. Morgan tensed slightly, getting ready to use her powers yet again, when the red machine finally got close to the others and aimed its hand out towards the monster.

“Hold on.” It instructed, sounding both like a man and a computer, as something shot out from its extended arm and lodged onto the massive creature.

The tail that was getting too close exploded and the American Man shielded the woman, who was closest to him, while the man with the bow used an overturned taxi as his shield. The few civilians below scattered as the pieces of the monster fell off the cement bridge and onto the road below.

Morgan leapt into action as she thrust her energy towards the pieces of the monster that rained down on the people. Her invisibility disappeared as she focused on the safety of the people below, making sure that no one was crushed by the dead alien.

The others were distracted as the aliens that were clinging to the walls of the buildings screeched out, eliciting a roar from the green creature. Then, all of them looked up as more of those massive monsters swam down from the portal, inching closer and closer to Earth.

“Shit.” Morgan cursed and then realized that her invisibility was no longer around her.

Though she had whispered it under her breath, everyone turned towards where Morgan was. Immediately, before they could identify the source, Morgan ducked down and hid behind an abandoned car that lay on its side, most likely to never run again. She held her breath as she gathered her power to once again hide any traces of her presence, the air wrapping around her like a cool blanket.

Before long, the team returned to defending the city. Their main goal was to take out the portal and contain the damage done by this foreign alien army. It was a good plan, though Morgan couldn’t hear all of it, but she knew that the man with the bow would keep a watchful eye on the city overhead. This meant that she would need to be more careful on how she helped others if she wanted to keep her identity a secret.

~

The battle was finally over.

It had been a few days since the affair and Morgan had just hung up on her parents after they had given her an earful for lying to them. They told her that she was to either immediately return home, abandoning the intended plan of exploring the college, or they would be forced to go to her. Knowing the dangers that had occurred here in this city, Morgan knew she would have to pack up her things and leave New York for good.

As she finished up packing in her little hotel room, there was a strong, firm knock at the door.

“I’ll be out in a minute!” Morgan called out absently, thinking it was one of the workers of the hotel. She knew no one in this city, so it was unlikely that anyone other than a worker would knock. Still, she did find it odd that they were checking up on her when her appointed time to leave was still hours away.

Satisfied with all her belongings crammed into her suitcase, she zipped it up, slung her carry-on bag over her shoulders, and headed for the door. Thinking about home made her happy, her good mood increasing at the idea of going back home.

The knob turned as she opened the door and to her surprise, the usual cleaning lady was not the one in front of her. Instead, a familiar red-haired woman and an unfamiliar blond man greeted her at the door.

“Morgan Nite?” the man asked, though from the look on his face Morgan sensed that he already knew who she was.

“I’m sorry, but I’m just a college student,” or at least she would be by the upcoming school year, “I’m not looking to buy anything.”

Morgan smiled politely at them, recalling exactly where she had seen that woman from and suspecting the reason as to why they had tracked her down. Her good mood plummeted but her years of experience of lying had allowed her to keep a poker face.

It was time for Morgan to leave. _Now._ As she made to close the door, the woman’s hand shot out and slammed her palm against the wood to prevent it from shutting.

“We’re not here to sell you anything, Miss Nite,” the blond man informed, still acting polite. In fact, he didn’t seem to be _acting_ at all. He seemed to genuinely be a polite man. “We’re just here to ask you a few questions.”

She’d heard those lines in movies many times before. Those lines were usually given before the receiver's life dramatically changed. Whether it was a good or bad change didn’t matter to Morgan. She enjoyed her trouble-free life and she intended for it to stay that way.

Her energy built up within her as her face remained neutral to the two unannounced guests. Her hand settled on the suitcase beside her, next to the door ready for departure. The air curled and covered the luggage and hid it from sight.

Masking her intention, already used to lying about her abilities for her entire life, Morgan looked confused as to what they could possibly want with a _normal_ girl like herself.

The well-built man seemed to hesitate, feeling unsure about whether the information about Morgan was accurate, but the woman who had prevented her from closing the door showed no indication over whether she believed Morgan or not.

“I’m sorry, did I do something wrong?” She asked, making a point to look slightly worried and definitely scared. It wasn’t hard to do since thoughts of being chained and experimented on flickered through her mind.

“No, no. Nothing like that, Ma’am,” the man soothed, trying to ease her worries.

His words triggered Morgan’s memories of the American Man who had tried to carry her to the subway in order to get her to safety. Recognition flashed in her eyes and she knew the red woman had caught on. Using this to the best of her abilities, Morgan gasped out loud.

“Oh my goodness!” She exclaimed, her eyes widening at the shock, “You’re that kind man in blue!”

The man looked confused for a moment before it finally clicked.

“Ah, you’re-” Before he could finish, Morgan steeled her resolve and decided to immerse herself in her role. She leapt into his arms, trying very hard to ignore the girl beside him reaching for her gun at the sudden movement.

“Thank you so much for saving me!” Morgan squealed and hugged the big man tightly. He stiffened at the suddenness of her actions, but eased up as he patted her on the head.

“I’m glad to see that you’re well,” he replied with a soft smile.

“You’re like some kind of hero, aren’t you?” She questioned, acting like a fan girl head-over-heels for her celebrity crush. It wasn’t difficult given that he was a very handsome man.

Now it was their turn to look surprised. They did not expect anyone to have not heard of Captain America before, not after the attack anyways. He was already popular and well-known as the super soldier who had fought Hydra, froze in a block of ice, and then revive many years after the war.

“Oh, sorry…” Morgan murmured as she realized why they were surprised. It was the same reaction her friends had given her when she didn’t know who their favorite actor/actress/singer/etc. was. “I-I didn’t know you were famous… You see, I’m not really up to date on all that stuff.”

Morgan’s genuine honesty and her shyness had cracked through the red-head’s poker face and internally Morgan rejoiced on achieving at least that much. The woman was dangerous. If Morgan didn’t play her cards right, her lies would easily be seen through.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I haven’t introduced myself yet,” the man apologized sheepishly, “My name is Steve Rogers, or Captain America.”

_Eh?_ Morgan thought, _You’re revealing your secret identity to a stranger like me? Is he lying? Well, it could very well be a fake name._

“Natasha,” the woman stated. That was all she gave Morgan.

“Morgan Nite,” she answered, “Though you both already seem to know my name.”

Morgan paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts, before looking back to them.

“Are you here to ask me about the incident?” She questioned, acting confused, “Because a lot of other people probably saw a lot more than I did.”

The two looked at one another, Steve genuinely doubting her involvement in the fight while the woman was as stone faced as ever.

“No, we’re here to talk about something else. May we come in?” Steve asked politely.

_This is it!_ Morgan thought to herself as she had anticipated this question popping up. It was so overdone in movies, a character being invited in only to dump some life-changing news/information on that poor, unsuspecting person. _Not for me!_

“O-of course!”

Morgan opened the door all the way, thankful that she had tidied things up for her departure.

The two walked in, Steve heading in causally while Natasha observing every nook and cranny of the room. They heard the sound of the door click shut and turned to Morgan, expecting her to follow them in, but she wasn’t there.

The two leapt into action, charging at the door and hurtling themselves into the empty hallway. They were baffled as to where Morgan could have gone, given she was a young and most likely inexperienced girl, but was nowhere to be seen.

Natasha was the first to act, signalling Steve to go down one hallway while she searched the other. He nodded and bounded down one way while she ran off in the other direction. Their footsteps, though fast and hurried, were soft and near silent. A few more seconds passed by. When silence was all that greeted her the air shifted from within the room.

Morgan revealed herself safe in her hotel room, directly next to the door, clutching her suitcase and bag. It was time to go.


	2. Recruited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It had been three years since being discovered by Steve and Natasha. Morgan got away and now lived out her normal life back in California with her family, but something wasn't right. Ever since the fight in New York, she had a sense that she wasn't alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Based on the movie - Avengers: Age of Ultron

Morgan was starting to get really ticked off.

She lay on her bed, lazily glancing at her phone before placing it back down. The energy within her stirred uncomfortably, making her mood turn more foul. Morgan rolled off her bed and glanced out the open window, glaring at the strangers that littered her neighborhood.

They were still following her.

It had been three years since the attack on New York. Morgan had successfully gotten away from Steve and Natasha, safely making it back home. Instantly her family and friends bombarded her with questions about that day. “Are you alright?” “Are you hurt?” “What happened?” “Did you get to meet the Avengers?” and so on. They couldn’t stop talking about the events they had heard about from the news, rambling on about these somewhat new superheroes that either saved or destroyed New York. Since it was all they ever talked about, Morgan now had a clear sense on the people who she assumed were after her.

Weeks went by but still she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was constantly being watched since the day of her return. Her suspicions were confirmed when more and more strangers were spotted near her, discreetly following Morgan wherever she went.

At first she had thought they would all gang up on her and kidnap her the moment she let her guard down. For days she was struggling between staying awake and being vigilant, unable to feel calm and safe in her own house. Her parents worried about her, thinking that this had something to do with the New York attack, but Morgan insisted that it wasn’t. The attack itself was simple enough, since she had gotten away with minor bruises and scratches, but the aftermath had taken its toll on her mental health.

After the first year, she finally deemed it safe enough to simply ignore the presence of her multiple stalkers. They hadn’t made a move to either approach or kidnap her, so it was clear their only job was to observe her. Though it was a serious invasion of her privacy, Morgan tried her best to block them out and live out her days as if normal. Their vigilance was unnerving, so Morgan had banned the use of her powers until those men gave up and went away.

Such a day had yet to come.

By the third year, she was fed up with their constant presence. Her bottled up powers protested within her, demanding release, but she capped it down and grumbled on with her days. Everyone around her sensed her change as she grew angrier and angrier by the day. They all acted as if they were walking on glass, trying very hard not to be the one to trigger her, which ironically only made things worse. Many times Morgan had to stop herself from throwing those men across the campus as they slowly tailed her even at school. Their persistence was amazing, since her average life was quite boring without the use of her powers. Still, it was as if she was caged in an invisible prison that no one else could see. It was honestly suffocating.

Suddenly, there was a shift. The men that were scattered around her neighborhood seemed to be backing off, one-by-one, casually excusing themselves from whatever they were doing and making off in different directions. Even the people Morgan didn’t expect to be part of the stalking group seemed to back off, following whatever order they had all received. She was both stunned and confused at their abrupt leave and the sheer number that had been discreetly mobilized. It was more than she had accounted for.

She couldn’t wrap her head around their departure. It had been three long years since they had begun following her and now they all seemed to have vanished. She should have felt relieved, but it was too good to be true. A bad feeling had planted itself in her gut and she couldn’t shake the feeling that something big was coming in their place. Of course, all she could do for now was wait for the dreaded event to arrive.

Morgan didn’t have to wait long.

As Morgan settled into one of the tables, the tray of her burger and fries placed in front of her, a stranger wordlessly took the empty seat across from her. Since this wasn’t the first time a rude stranger had taken a seat without permission due to how packed the place was, she didn’t pay her any mind. Then, the lack of food made Morgan grow more suspicious. If she wasn’t a customer, who was she?

“Morgan Nite?” the woman asked, but given her tone, she knew exactly who she was talking to.

Morgan looked up and took in the stranger, a mask of innocent surprise and confusion plastered on her face to hide the panic that boiled under the surface. The woman in front of her looked at Morgan with a cool face, analyzing her with the precision of a trained veteran. Her dark brown hair was pulled into a neat bun and her clothes made her appear to be just an average woman at a fast food restaurant. If it weren’t for those blue eyes that trained on her every move, Morgan would have assumed the same.

“Yes?” she replied, putting down the half-eaten burger and giving the stranger her full attention, casually wiping her somewhat greasy fingers to play off the building nerves.

“I am Maria Hill, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.” she said, and it took everything in Morgan’s power not to bolt out the door.

“S.H.I.E.L.D.?” Morgan repeated, her nerves making the trapped power within her buzz with energy. It was a common name that had surfaced whenever her friends talked about the Avengers, so there was no way Morgan wouldn’t know who they were. “W-wow! What does an agent from S.H.I.E.L.D. want with me?”

“We’ve been keeping an eye on you, but you already know that, don’t you?” Her knowing smile was enough for Morgan to understand that lies would get her nowhere. The only options now were whether she should run or wait to see what happened.

_There’s too many people here for her to make a move_ , Morgan thought to herself, _but that also means I can’t escape easily like last time. S.H.I.E.L.D. is supposed to be one of the good guys, so why are they harassing me?_

“What do you want?” Morgan questioned, taking off the mask of innocence and glaring at the woman in front of her. Her muscles tensed, getting ready to bolt if anything suspicious caught her eye, but the next thing Agent Hill said was beyond what she had imagined.

“We need your help.”

~

Agent Maria Hill had told Morgan a brief summary of what was going down between the Avengers and Ultron, a faulty creation of Tony Stark, aka. Iron Man. The whole situation was absurd, and the dangers of Ultron’s goal was bone chilling.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had been watching Morgan after the New York incident to both confirm that she had abilities and to make sure that she wasn’t using them for anything harmful to society. They were to watch her longer, since she barely revealed any usage of her powers, but the Ultron attack had forced them to withdraw. Now, Agent Hill was assigned to bring Morgan to the Avengers to help them save the world and to minimize the casualties of battle, given that the results of her handiwork during the New York invasion was a valuable skill in a large-scale attack.

Agent Hill promised that her identity would be well-hidden and that no loved ones would come to harm. In addition, she warned that Ultron’s objective was the extinction of mankind. If they failed in stopping him, then eventually Morgan and her family would be subjected to his wrath. Still, Morgan was young. They would not force her into a perilous fight if she really did not wish to join in their battle. The choice was Morgan’s. Agent Hill’s eyes, stern and professional, softened and she reached out a hand. With a firm, yet knowing grasp, she squeezed Morgan’s shoulder and smiled.

“This is a lot to take in and there is nothing wrong with refusing. But the world is in danger and we need your help,” she said, her eyes grim at the power of Ultron she had witnessed first hand. “Even if the Avengers defeat Ultron, your powers can considerably decrease the amount of casualties in this battle.”

It felt like a huge weight was placed on her shoulders. Her powers weren’t limitless, but if they could help others, shouldn’t she do just that? But then, what about her quiet life? Her classes? Her friends and family?

Flashes of the fight in New York crossed her mind as her brain tried to find a solution to her dilemma. The feeling of helping the panicked people while the Avengers fought their war resurfaced, causing her heart to ache. The faces of people as they rejoiced, knowing that they were safe and alive. The faces of the children as they reunited with their parents. The faces of the victims, crying out for their loved ones that didn’t make it… It all came crashing back.

Morgan knew what she had to do.

~

Agent Maria Hill had dropped Morgan off at Avengers Tower.

“I have to meet with someone to plan our next move,” was all she said before racing off in her car.

Morgan was at a loss. She had walked up to the entrance to the tall building, but everything was dark and no one was working within. Several times she tried to open the door or call out to anyone who would listen, but there was no reply.

_Great. I’m on a mission to save the world and the thing in my path is a locked door. Would the Avengers blame me if I broke the glass?_ Morgan silently debated in her head before sighing in defeat and looking up to the sky.

Her body rose from the ground as she finally made use of her powers and flew up into the air. It felt as though all the tension was leaving her as the suppressed abilities finally left her body and was released into the world. Her sore muscles no longer ached and her breathing became steady as she flew higher and higher up the tower. Little did she know Captain America and two others had rushed inside the previously locked lobby doors below her.

She made her way up the tower, the entrance to the landing platform already ajar as though it were opened recently. When she finally made it to an area with lights and activity, she saw two people busy at work as they fiddled with the transparent computers. They looked familiar as she peeked over the equipment to get a better view. One of them was definitely Tony Stark, or the red machine that she had seen during the fight in New York. The other man, who Morgan did not know the name of, was the ordinary man in that same battle who could turn into what people called the Hulk. As she got closer, careful not to draw their attention, she peered at the large box that everything seemed to surround. Her curiosity peaked, Morgan was about to clear her throat but before she could make her presence known, someone else interrupted them.

“I’m gonna say this once,” a familiar voice said, cutting through the silence of the two working men.

“How about ‘nunce’,” Tony countered before Captain America could finish.

“Shut it down,” he continued, growing angrier by the second.

The two unfamiliar people behind him, a girl and a boy around her age, were silent as they watched the two bicker. They looked at Stark with a somewhat negative look, as if there was a grudge against him, but before Morgan could think more on it, the human version of Hulk’s words reached her ears.

“She’s not in your head?”

Morgan’s eyes shot to the girl and she shrunk back in the place she was hiding.

_Mind control… Is that why the Avengers are fighting?_ Morgan thought as she tried her best to take in the situation with the information she was given.

Wanda Maximoff… That’s who she was. And if that was Wanda, then the one beside her was Pietro Maximoff, her brother. From the intell that Agent Hill had provided her, the Maximoff twins were working for Ultron. It was possible that she was indeed in Captain America’s head.

“I know you’re angry,” she began, trying to calm his growing rage, but he quickly interrupted her.

“Oh, we’re way past that.” He scoffed, “I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade.”

Those words sent a chill down Morgan’s spine and again she could not tell which side were in fact the “good guys.” Of course, she knew that Wanda had manipulated the Hulk into terrorizing a city, but killing people seemed to be the opposite of what a “hero” should be doing. At least, that’s what Morgan believed.

They all began to talk over one another, arguing on what to do with the thing inside the box that glowed blue in the center of the room. From the increase in tension, Morgan wasn’t sure when she should reveal her presence to the team.

Suddenly, Pietro disappeared and a blue streak raced across the room pulling apart wires and flinging paper everywhere. The room went silent as the boy stopped and threw down the cords he had in his hands while the computers blared their warnings to being disconnected.

“No, no. Go on. You were saying?” He asked, but before anyone could answer, the sound of a gun blasted, shaking the air and suddenly, the boy fell through the broken glass floor. Morgan could just make out another familiar man, who stepped on the boy to prevent him from moving, as Hawkeye, the archer.

It was in that moment that chaos ensued. Captain America’s shield came flying in all directions and it took all Morgan could muster to block the onslaught of attack and debris that were headed her way. She was caught in the crossfire between the two Avengers and it terrified her. This was not the well-working team that she had witnessed that day in New York. No, this was simply destruction.

Thankfully, before things could escalate any further, Thor burst into the room. He jumped onto the strange box and thrust his hammer up in the air. Electricity coursed all around as lightning gathered onto the metal before he swung it down into the machine. For a moment, there was silence. Then, the box burst outward, blinding Morgan and hurtling Thor into glass and making him collide hard onto the floor, broken shards showering him from the impact.

A figure eased out of the box, looking around before setting its confused eyes on Thor. In an instant, it leapt out at him who then tossed the oncoming man out the window and into the bigger room below. Having lost sight of the man, everyone rushed out into the other room, including Morgan who got caught up in the moment and forgot that no one even knew she was there.

Everyone was now in the room, too distracted to realize that their party had increased by one, and now stared at the red man. There was silence as he turned to everyone and floated down, some sort of fabric appearing around him out of thin air. When he gently landed, he breathed out and apologized for his previous outburst, saying that it was, “odd.” With that, he turned to Thor and in the blink of an eye, a golden cape draped around his shoulders and elegantly touched all the way down to the floor.

As the Avengers discussed what this creature was, Morgan’s gaps in knowledge were slowly being filled. It seemed the Maximoffs were on the Avenger’s side because they were against the plans for destruction Ultron had accumulated. In addition, Thor had helped create this strange red man before them because he had some sort of vision on some oncoming war. Though the fighting was a bit much for Morgan, she was relieved to find the team back together.

When the discussion came to an end, the red man was the first to leave. Next, Thor turned to Tony, patted him on the shoulder, and then walked off after the strange creature. Finally, Captain America turned back to everyone and was about to say something when his eyes landed on her. His eyes widened in surprise and Morgan finally snapped out of her trance.

_Shit_ , she thought to herself as the others turned to her when they noticed the object of Steve’s attention.

Now everyone stared at Morgan. Tony already had his armored arm glowing ready while the Maximoffs and the human version of Hulk stared at her in confusion. Steve was the only one who had met with Morgan and even he was silent.

“H-hi,” Morgan weakly said, chuckling at the awkwardness that surrounded her, slightly worried that they would all jump and attack her, “I was going to say something, but you all seemed busy.” When no one made a move to say anything, Morgan cleared her throat and tried again. “Agent Hill sent me…?”

She was answered with more silence, making her doubt whether or not Hill had informed the team of her arrival. Given their infighting and lack of trust, it was going to be difficult for Morgan to get them to believe her if they were not already notified of her arrival.

“Three minutes,” Captain America finally said as he took his eyes off Morgan and looked around at the other people in the room, “Get what you need.”


	3. Avenger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chaos ensued and Morgan was now fighting for her life. It wasn't like New York... No, this time the enemy was after her too. If she didn't think fast, this would be her last day alive!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Based on the movie - Avengers: Age of Ultron

“Run!”

Morgan couldn’t focus on who was shouting. She didn’t even know if she was the one who shouted that out over all the mayhem and destruction.

Robots were emerging from the floor, the rivers, the skies… Everywhere she turned, robots were there attacking. Their weapons hummed as blue light pulsed in their guns. Morgan twisted her energy and compacted it into an invisible shield as their rays shot out at the people. The impact pounded hard against her power and sweat beaded down her back as she strained to keep the barrier up while the civilians behind her scurried out of the way to safety. When everyone was cleared out, she pushed her energy outward and it barreled into the enemies, providing more time for escape. It was her main task to protect the innocent people and she intended to do it without fail.

As everything was happening, Morgan could think of only one thing. This wasn’t like New York… Back then, Morgan was away from the heart of the battle and only took care of the civilians around her. She didn’t have to worry too much about the Chitauri as they charged on since their main enemies were the Avengers. All she had to worry about was the safety of the surrounding people. Now, she was in the middle of the chaos, trying her best to both stay alive and take care of the civilians.

Just when everything seemed as though it couldn’t get much worse, it did. The ground rumbled below Morgan’s feet and her balance was thrown off. The people stumbled along with her as something big was starting to happen. The concrete below them began to crack as it snaked its way around the city. With only one thought, Morgan grunted as she used her power to push the civilians to the opposite side of the cracks.

Her intuition was proven to be correct as the ground around the widening crevice caved in and the city below her began to rise. The people she had pushed to the other side were looking up as their homes were being lifted off into the sky. The feeling of nausea and motion-sickness coiled in Morgan’s stomach but she pushed aside the thought and raced away from the edge and towards more panicking people.

While Ultron made his speech about the extinction of mankind, Morgan blocked it out as she got more and more people to the ground, away from the floating piece of Earth. It was still close enough for her to lower them down but the gap was gradually increasing so she didn’t have time to pay attention to his ramblings. However, she couldn’t completely tune him out and the last line he said finally reached her ears.

“When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world will be metal.”

Then all she could hear were screams. Buildings collapsed, people ran here and there, robots charged from all directions, and the ground quaked as it rose higher into the sky. It was now too far to float the people down without the possibility of dropping them from a dangerous height. Instead, she directed the people away from the edge. All of this was overwhelming, but Morgan suppressed her growing anxiety and only focused on the civilians around her. It was all she could do to keep herself from falling into despair.

“Stark, you worry about bringing the city back down safely,” Steve’s voice cut through Morgan’s buzzing thoughts as he instructed everyone what to do through their earpieces, “The rest of us have one job. Tear these things apart. You get hurt? Hurt ‘em back. You get killed?” There was a brief pause that made the hammering of Morgan’s chest sound unbearably loud in her ears, “Walk it off.”

She couldn’t even laugh. The possibility of dying had flashed in-and-out of her thoughts, but there was too much going on for her to really let it all sink in. Now that Steve had put it to words, it was all she could think about.

Her whole body trembled as she took in the destruction around her. Protecting everyone while taking on the onslaught of the robot army was just too much. The nausea coiled further in her stomach and she tried her hardest to not throw up. People all around were screaming and running around, colliding with one another and trampling the fallen. It was bloody and brutal… Fear and hopelessness had set in, and she found herself frozen in place.

“This is all our fault…” A weak voice whimpered through the comms, forgetting that she could be heard by the others. Her voice cracked and her fears equalled Morgan’s own, compelling her to focus on Wanda’s words.

“Hey, look at me!” Hawkeye instructed, getting Morgan to instinctively look up and realize that no one was there. Still, she couldn’t help but listen in as though he were speaking not just to Wanda but also to Morgan who stood alone in the middle of this turmoil. “None of this makes sense. But I’m going back out there since it’s my job.”

_But this isn’t my job_ , she wanted to protest, but remained silent. Her voice was trapped in her throat and she swallowed back a cry that wanted to escape. Tears welled up in her eyes and she knew that if she blinked, they would pour out like a broken dam.

“If you go out there, you fight, and you fight to kill,” he continued, “Stay in here, you’re good. I’ll send your brother to come and find you. But if you step out that door, you are an Avenger.”

His words had struck a chord. The screams around her were drowned out by his words and her body no longer shook uncontrollably as everything began to sink in. There was no “door” for Morgan to walk through, meaning that Morgan was already out there, fighting to kill. She had already fought off swarms of Chitauri to protect the New York people. She had already slaughtered hoards of robots that tried to kill off the civilians in her charge. She had already used her powers to protect the people and battle monsters that threatened them… Realization set in and a new energy coursed through her veins.

She had already stepped out that “door.” She was an Avenger.

Morgan wiped away the water building in her eyes and shook off the fear that had paralyzed her moments before. She glared at the oncoming swarm and destroyed every robot she faced with new-found motivation. She diligently shielded the civilians from the falling debris and stray rays that endangered their lives. Fighting off the oncoming army was difficult, but it was now _her_ job.

Finally, most of the people had found their way to shelter but just when she was about to go off further into the heart of Sokovia, a woman’s scream pierced through the air. She turned to the source of the sound and saw the collapsing bridge that Captain America stood at. Morgan ran towards him as he grabbed hold of the bumper of the red car that held a woman within. He struggled to keep hold of the dangerously tilting vehicle when suddenly, the metal broke off. The woman within shrieked as she and another car of passengers fell over the edge. Morgan wouldn’t make it in time!

Then, Thor hurtled downward, zipping through the air like a rocket. He landed on the red car, just as Morgan fell beside Steve, and he looked up to the Captain before throwing the woman up into the sky. Without a second thought, Steve slid down the concrete, catching himself on a metal rod that protruded off from the broken bridge, and caught the woman by the wrist. She whimpered as the ground below her grew further and further away, her life flashing before her eyes.

Giving her words of comfort, he helped her wrap her arms around him before he focused on getting them back up the bridge. He grunted with effort as he heaved himself higher up the broken overpass with his one free hand. Shaking off the stunning display, Morgan finally got back to her senses but before she could help out, a robot descended near them.

“You can’t save them all,” it sneered as its metal arm shifted into a gun.

“Yes, but I can at least try!” Morgan answered as she pushed her hands outward towards the oncoming robot and forced her power to seep into all the tiny cracks of its metallic frame. It froze as its joints were all filled with her energy and the metal creaked as the insides began to expand out. Soon the robot exploded from the inside-out, the force of Morgan’s power pushing outward, like a balloon overblown with air.

“You’ll never-” another robot began as it lunged for the woman who finally made it up the bridge, but a shield slammed into it before Morgan could make another move, lodging itself into the metal creature.

“You’ll never what?” Steve called as the robot shot towards him when he recalled his shield, and tossed the broken robot over the broken bridge, “You didn’t finish!”

Thor rejoined Captain America and Morgan before the three headed over to where the battle continued and fought off the metal creatures as they kept coming. The two men fought side-by-side while Morgan went off to both help the civilians from the attacks and get them to safety. Then, Thor and Steve looked to one another before he kicked up his shield. Without missing a beat, Thor swung his hammer and the force propelled the shield, smashing multiple robots in one swift blow. The attack was beautifully played out, but the thing they didn’t account for was Morgan.

She let out a small squeak before instinctively putting up her hands in defense. Energy rippled through the air as her fear and defense mechanism kicked in to create a barrier around her. The weapon collided into her shield and then ricocheted off and lodged itself into a car. For a brief moment, the three of them were silent as they feared one sound would cause Morgan to crumble.

“Watch it!” Morgan finally growled, the two men letting out a relieved breath, as she made sure she was indeed ok.

Since the attack was something she wasn’t prepared for, her barrier was crudely made. When she carefully inspected her hands, there was a straight line of red as if the shield really did hit her. Though she was not bleeding, it felt as though someone had whipped her with a ruler using enough force to break the first few layers of skin.

“Apologies,” Thor sheepishly smiled, while at the same time Steve called, “Sorry! Are you alright?”

Morgan scoffed out an answer and then bounded off to fight off more robots, trying very hard not to think of what would have happened to her if she hadn’t blocked that shield. Adrenaline from the near brush with death made her feel jittery and she desperately tried to run it off. Glancing back down at her palms, the line was fading and she sighed internally before refocusing back to the battle at hand.

The others didn’t need to know.

~

“Avengers, time to work for a living.”

_What do you think I’ve been doing?!_ Morgan wanted to yell back at Tony, but instead she wisely shut her mouth and advanced alongside the other Avengers.

Ultron, for some reason unknown to Morgan, had chosen a church as his location of mass destruction. There in the center of the ruined building lay an object made of vibranium that would determine the fate of Sokovia. In fact, it was the very key to the possible extinction of mankind.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had finally arrived to help out the evacuation, so everyone was now guarding the weapon so that Ultron could not drop the city into the Earth. Not protecting the people and focusing purely on the oncoming robot army was simpler yet more draining than Morgan had imagined.

“Is that the best you can do?” Thor taunted as the few remaining robots were smashed by the Hulk, who was the last to join the circle around the core.

As if his words were a signal, swarms of robots rushed in and stopped just a few feet in front of them. They littered the streets with gleaming, dark metal and the sheer number of them seemed to cover the floor they stood on from sight.

“You had to ask,” Steve huffed and Morgan grumbled along with him.

“This is the best I can do,” Ultron answered, looking as though he had already won.

It was like a never ending stream of metal that could kill her if Morgan let her guard down for just a second. The thought made her sweat turn cold but she pushed on like the others around her. No one stopped for a breath as they all fought off the hoard and protected one another from harm. It was the perfect fluidity that Morgan had witnessed in New York and some part of her was proud to be a part of it this time around.

As the numbers dwindled, and Ultron hurtled to places unknown by the Hulk, the remaining robots fled and took off in all directions. Vision, Tony, and the Hulk bounded after the strays to prevent Ultron from escaping. The rest of the team stayed behind as Steve gave clear instructions when there was no longer any immediate danger to the core. Morgan nodded along, going off towards the edge of the city, to make it to one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s boats, when something caught her eye.

Ultron stumbled into the open carrier, his metallic shell of a body broken apart from the damage of Thor, Stark, and Vision’s combined attack. Taking this opportunity, ignoring the little voice of reason ringing in her head, she shifted the air around her and crept up behind the artificial man. With her presence erased, she easily got close to the machine, but before she could make a move, he drove the aircraft into the air and almost knocked her sideways into the metal frame.

The sound of bullets firing out of the machine gun attached to the carrier caught her attention and she desperately tried to get back her balance.

“I have no strings so I have fun…” He softly sung to himself as he continued to shoot the people below, ignorant to the string of not-so-friendly words swarming in Morgan’s head.

_Is this guy singing the Pinocchio song?_ Morgan cursed to herself as she was jostled around in the aircraft, _That’s psycho level crazy._

When she finally was able to stand, something heavy crashed into the carrier and made its way up the entrance. The impact caused a small sound to escape her as her invisibility wavered slightly when she was yet again thrown down onto the metal floor. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Hulk barrel his way into the somewhat large metal space and reach for Ultron who sat behind the wheel.

“Oh for God’s sake-” was all she heard before Ultron’s already damaged body hurtled out the gaping opening of the aircraft and out into the sky below.

Silence filled the room as he still had not noticed that he was not alone in the vehicle. His large body in an enclosed space made her a slight bit claustrophobic, but surprising him did not seem like the right answer, since she knew the Hulk could be irrational at times. Minutes seemed like hours as time passed them by. The silence was deafening and she was just about ready to jump out the still open entrance when the Hulk moved towards something. Regret for her lack of action consumed her as the door to her freedom began to slowly close shut, the Hulk looking back one last time as if saying goodbye.

“Hey big guy,” a familiar voice sounded from the front of the carrier, “we did it. Job is finished.” It was Natasha. “Now I need you to turn this bird around, ok?”

At the sound of her voice, the Hulk slowly advanced to where her face was displayed on the screen near the wheel of the ship.

_Yes, turn this bird around! The battle is done and I would really like to go home!_ Morgan cheered internally as she tried to will the green man into following the orders of the red haired woman in front of them.

“We can’t track you in stealth mode,” she continued while he reached out his hand as if to touch her, “so help me out. I need you to-”

And then there was silence. Morgan’s heart sank as the woman disappeared and all that was left was the clear blue skies up ahead. The Hulk didn’t say a word as he dropped into the seat and began to fly the contraption that still held Morgan like a prisoner.

_Shit._


	4. Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stranded on the alien planet Sakaar, Morgan feels like escape is impossible when two surprising guests arrive!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Based on the movie - Avengers: Age of Ultron & Thor: Ragnarok

“Want to keep staring at the wall or do you want to get to work?” Steve asked his fellow Avenger as she turned away from the plain, black wall at the sound of his voice. “I mean it’s a pretty interesting wall.”

“Any word on Nite?” Natasha answered with a question of her own.

The Avengers had lost track of their new recruit during the final battle with Ultron. Though S.H.I.E.L.D. was prepared to pronounce her dead, some were against the idea of giving up their search for her. The other Avengers, who had gotten to know her both before and during the fight, had grown fond of her company and didn’t want to lose hope.

“None yet but we’ll find her,” the Captain replied, though there was a small part of him that knew their chances were slim. “Now, work?”

“I thought you and Tony were still gazing into each other’s eyes.” Natasha smirked, making her way towards her friend and out the door.

Neither one wanted to discuss what could have happened to the young girl who just wanted to live a normal life. The guilt gnawed at them since they were the ones that helped to drag her out of it. Instead of stewing in their own guilt, they decided to put in their best efforts into searching for her while keeping their mind off of the dire possibilities by training the other new recruits.

Little did they know she was flying alongside another fellow missing Avenger…

~

Morgan dazed off into the distance as she looked out the window onto the foreign planet. Her mind drifted back and forth, listening absently to the music that surrounded her. The people around her laughed and danced, but she couldn’t bring herself to join in on their mindless fun.

“How long has it been…” She quietly asked herself.

No one aged on this planet and time seemed almost irrelevant. Aliens from all over the universe were mingling here and there so any trace of normalcy was long forgotten. Escape seemed so out of reach that many times Morgan debated giving up all together. Scrapper 142 certainly did and she advised Morgan to do the same.

_Midgardian…_ Morgan thought to herself as she remembered the term the scrapper had called her. When the carrier had fallen into that wormhole and wound up on Sakaar, Scrapper 142 was the one that had stumbled upon the two of them.

Morgan couldn’t help but chuckle at the memory. Both she and the Hulk were disoriented from being sucked into the wormhole and felt groggy from the hard landing. In her state, she couldn’t even think about how she no longer was shrouded in the invisible blanket of her powers. When the Hulk discovered her there, Morgan was prepared for the worst. However, rather than tear her apart, he helped her stand and eyed her up and down. It seemed as though there was a bit of Banner still in there who recognized her as a friend, or at least a fellow Avenger who had fought with him during the attack against Ultron.

Then, the stranger landed her alien plane.

Oddly enough, she had easily befriended the Hulk, noticing that he enjoyed fighting, while disregarding Morgan’s presence. Thankfully, Hulk insisted that she be taken with them. Though Morgan had no idea why, she was grateful to have a familiar face having her back. Given that Morgan had no training to call herself a fighter, it was obvious she would not make an entertaining spectacle if placed in the battlefield, so the scrapper wasn’t too pleased to bring back someone who wouldn’t pay. Still, if it would win over the Hulk, she had to agree.

By some miracle, the Grandmaster had taken a liking to Morgan and even offered her a place in his home. Perhaps it was because the Hulk seemed to be attached to her, or maybe he just didn’t get many humans around and wanted to keep her as a pet. Still, he always welcomed her with a smile. Knowing that it was essential for survival, Morgan did her best not to get on his bad side.

The Grandmaster’s home was where she had been staying since that day. The Hulk had made a favorable name for himself here while Morgan lived out her days desperately wanting nothing more than to go back home. She visited the Hulk often, considering he was the only other person she knew who was from Earth, but nothing she said could convince him to go back with her. The Grandmaster would certainly not allow it since he had grown attached to his new “Grand Champion”.

_Thor called me a Midgardian too…_ Morgan returned to her normal train of thought but frowned as she stumbled upon a difficult question. _She might be from Asgard then but…_ Morgan couldn’t bring herself to ask if the scrapper knew of Thor. In fact, she was hard to trust and even harder to approach. The very air around her seemed to push people away, as if to prevent them from getting too close. On the other hand, she seemed to enjoy Hulk and Morgan’s company. So long as they didn’t poke their noses into her personal business, she welcomed their interactions.

Just when Morgan was thinking of giving up on going back home for what seemed to be the millionth time, something surprising appeared. No, not some _thing_. It was some _one_.

“Shit,” Morgan whispered in such a small voice that it was drowned out by the buzz of the crowd.

The new arrival chuckled as he walked side-by-side with the Grandmaster. His blue and black clothes were smooth and fit him comfortably as his yellow and black cape swayed with his movements along behind him. Long, black hair was slicked back away from his face and his grin looked almost genuine as he shared a few laughs with the host. His blue eyes seemed to almost glint a greenish hue under the lights as he examined the room with keen precision that many would miss if they were too entranced by his award-winning smile.

Before Morgan could sneak away, the Grandmaster caught sight of her and the two made their way over. Her heart raced inside her chest as the memories of the horrific destruction and chaos that were affiliated with this person before her rapidly flashed through her mind. She could still hear the faint screams of the people as the two slowly walked across the room. It was only when the Grandmaster stopped right in front of her that the distant cries of the city of New York faded into deafening silence.

“Morgan,” the Grandmaster announced in his usual, flamboyant way. His arms waved slightly, a subtle gesture for her to stand. She followed his command, knowing that his displeasure meant her demise, and plastered on her usual smile toward him. “I’d like you to meet our newest guest!”

“You’re too kind,” the man replied and looked towards her, “I am Loki. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Morgan.” He reached out his hand and Morgan shook it without hesitation.

“The pleasure is all mine,” she replied as the lies slipped out with ease from years of experience and practice. The smile Morgan masterfully placed on her face showed no signs of strain.

“What is a Mid-” Loki coughed slightly, an elegant motion to hide his slip of the tongue in a skilled and almost artistic way, “-a human from Earth doing so far from home?”

“It must have been fate that brought me here with the Grand Champion to follow and entertain the Grandmaster,” Morgan answered, her smile unfaltering as she casually drew back her hand. The ruler of Sakaar beamed at the compliments she always threw his way, still amazed that she could come up with so many ways to claim he was great.

“I like that!” He exclaimed as he turned to Loki, “Don’t you agree that she’s a treat!”

He just smiled back at the Grandmaster, neither confirming or denying his statement. The Grandmaster didn’t seem to mind and instead turned back to enjoy the rest of the party. Loki followed close behind and Morgan carefully watched as she stayed back from the dangerous god.

Though she disliked this man who had caused so much damage in New York, Morgan couldn’t really say much about him since she had never actually met him. All she knew was that he was the adoptive brother of Thor, wanted to rule Earth, and had abilities that seemed to be straight out of a book. It was wise not to make him her enemy while on this planet and she intended to do just that.

~

Two weeks had passed since Loki’s arrival.

She had finally realized how long she had been gone from Earth after speaking with Loki from time to time. _Two years…_ Her mind wouldn’t accept that. She had almost driven herself crazy several times from the long stay on this planet… It wasn’t possible for it to only have been two. No… It was more like twenty-eight. But she couldn’t dwell too deeply on it. Loki already found her suspicious and it was a wonder why he had not questioned her yet. Perhaps he just didn’t care enough to ask.

The two weren’t close enough to be called friends, or even acquaintances. It was only because the Grandmaster insisted they get closer that they were even speaking to one another. Both of them knew that getting on his bad side would be detrimental so during times where he was present, the two would talk to one another as though they were having a great time.

There were times Morgan would glance over at the God of Mischief, marveling at his way with words. He certainly had a silver tongue, utilizing it to win over the people in less than a few days, which was difficult to accomplish since most of them only thought for themselves. She sometimes debated asking him how he wound up here, since she knew he was taken back to Asgard for his crimes against Earth, but many times she backed out. It was dangerous to ask questions, especially to this manipulative man. One slip of the tongue and Morgan might end up either battling the Hulk or a pile of goo from the Grandmaster’s favored “Melt Stick”.

The party was still in full swing when something caught Morgan’s eye. Her eyes widened slightly and immediately she got up from her seat. Excusing herself by pretending to get drinks, she quickly scurried off to the other end of the room. Loki’s eyes followed her, curious on why she abruptly left, but he dismissed it as he went back to telling one of his many stories.

“…my friend… new cast…” the Grandmaster said, but she was a bit too far to actually hear exactly what they were saying. Slowly, she inched closer, making sure it was indeed the person she thought it was who sat upon that all-too-familiar chair.

“…I’m going back to Asgard.” the man spat out.

_Thor!_ Morgan gave a silent cheer. If Thor was here, he would definitely go back to Earth. The waiting was nearing its end and home seemed so close that tears welled up in her eyes. She missed her family, friends, and even some of the Avengers that she had gotten to know in that brief time. Hope welled up in her as she continued to listen in on their conversation.

“Loki?” Thor mumbled before his smile widened at the familiar sight. “Loki!”

Loki, on the other hand, did not look so pleased to see his brother. As the two whispered and quietly yelled at one another, the Grandmaster inched closer.

“Weeks ago?” Thor repeated something Loki had said. “Wha-? I just got here.”

“What are you whispering about?” The Grandmaster interrupted, startling Thor. “Time works real different around these parts. On any other world, I’d be like uh… millions of years old. But here on Sakaar…”

That explained many things to Morgan. Two years just seemed like too little time. Though she barely aged at all, she still tried to count the days on this planet to make sense of it all. She certainly counted far beyond _two_ years.

“I’ve never met this man in my life.” Loki’s words brought Morgan back to reality and she refocused on the discussion at hand.

“He’s my _brother_!” Thor countered, affirming her suspicions. If Thor had spotted Morgan, her cover would definitely have been blown.

Before long, Thor was taken away. Loki and the Grandmaster went back to the party and the music blared louder in Morgan’s ears. Still, the wheels in her head began to turn as she brainstormed ways of freeing Thor and saving him from battling the Hulk, who she predicted wouldn’t turn down the challenge. He liked his fame here and probably would show no mercy, even to his friend.

“You know my brother?” a voice whispered in her ear, making her jump back in alarm.

Loki stood before her, a mischievous smile on his face and eyes that resembled a cat’s curiosity.

“W-what?” She stuttered, trying to regain her cool and brush off the tickling sensation in her ear.

“My brother,” Loki repeated, his smile unwavering, “you know him, no?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t lie. You ran away the moment you saw him.”

_Shoot… He saw that? Dang it…_ Morgan mentally scolded herself. _Think, Morgan, think!_ She internally screamed as her mind began to spin into a panic for any sort of explanation to her odd behavior. During the two weeks she had gotten to know Loki, she could confirm only one thing. He couldn’t be trusted.

“He’s very popular back on Earth.”

“That doesn’t explain why you had to avoid him from seeing you. What are you hiding?”

Morgan went silent. She couldn’t think of any excuses. In fact, why did she even have to answer his questions? He had many secrets of his own so it didn’t make sense on why she was being pressured to speak up.

Suddenly, her mouth opened. As if it had a mind of its own, her tongue started to move as words uncontrollably began to spill.

“I knew about him back when you were attacking New York.”

Morgan's eyes widened as she looked down at her own mouth that continued on. Several times she tried to clamp her mouth shut or bring her hands up to stop herself from talking but something prevented her from moving against its will. Her eyes shifted back to Loki’s and the green glint in them made her realize he was behind it.

“So you knew who I was before I even introduced myself?” Loki frowned. He didn’t like being lied to. Especially not by a mortal.

“Yes.” Morgan obediently answered as she struggled under his control. He smiled at her futile attempts and the power over her only grew stronger.

“Who are you? Why are you here? What is your goal?”

“I’m-” Before she could finish, Morgan bit down on her tongue. Her powers interlaced with her muscles as they fought against the control Loki had placed on her body. His eyes widened as a bit of blood began to spill from her injured tongue that squirmed against the clutches of her teeth.

His surprise was enough to lessen his handle over her. Using that window, Morgan’s dormant powers welled up within her and took back her hands as she forced them to slam into both sides of her cheeks. The pain jolted her out of whatever hypnotic trance he had placed on her and she glared at the god as he eyed her in awe.

“Fighting you two?” The Grandmaster asked as he waltzed over, hearing the fuss the two were making.

“Not at all,” Loki smiled as he placed a casual hand on Morgan’s shoulder, his arm resting on her as he hugged her to his side, “we were just having a small debate on who would win in the next fight with the Champion.”

The Grandmaster turned to Morgan and she just smiled at this as if agreeing with Loki’s statement. Her tongue continued to bleed in her mouth and she tried hard not to cringe at the taste of iron that filled her senses. Content, he nodded at this, beaming with excitement at the next match, and went about his business.

In the exact moment he turned his back, she smacked Loki’s arm away from her. Her cheeks were red from the force of the slap but the pain was nothing to being controlled like that. It was infuriating that her secrets had spilled out so easily. Nearly thirty Sakaarian years in hiding and she had nothing to show for it… Not now, since he had easily gotten it out of her.

He opened his sly mouth but before he could speak another word, Morgan turned away and walked further into the party. She weaved her way through the crowd and when Loki tried to follow her, she vanished. He did not waste any more energy on searching for her and instead followed suit and disappeared from the party altogether.

~

When it was time for Thor to battle the Champion, Morgan sat in the middle of the seat that faced the arena below. The cushions were nice and comfortable but they did little to lift her mood. She internally grumbled at how she even ended up coming. The Grandmaster had insisted that she be there for the fight and it was impossible to refuse. Loki, on the other hand, chatted around behind her as he enjoyed his time and seemed even eager to see his brother battle. Maybe even lose.

The Grandmaster riled up the audience as he announced the newest contender, the gate slowly opening on his mark. Morgan nearly fell off her chair when she saw Thor’s hair, his blond locks buzzed short. Before she could dwell further, the ruler of Sakaar continued on and the crowd cheered as the doors to the Champion began to open.

“Yes!” Thor exclaimed when he saw who the Grand Champion really was.

“I have to get off this planet,” Loki gasped out as he began to back away towards the exit, but before he could leave the Grandmaster stopped him. Though his sudden change made Morgan curious on why he was so shaken by the Hulk, she refocused on the two Avengers who would soon face off to the death.

To Morgan’s disappointment, she was seated between the Grandmaster and Loki. Thankfully, there was enough room on the long seat so that neither one was close enough to touch her but it was still rather uncomfortable, especially since Thor would discover that she was there too.

“Hey, hey!” Thor called up to the three with a big smile on his face. His eyes widened when he made eye contact with Morgan, but before he could thoughtlessly reveal her identity, she made a small “x” with her fingers in front of her mouth and pleaded for him not to say anything about her. “We know each other! He’s a friend from work!”

Thankfully, it seemed like Thor got the message.

Loki shifted uncomfortably in his seat as the Grandmaster looked to him in bewilderment. When Loki chose not to share anything, the ruler turned to Morgan. She stared up at him, her eyes wide and overall confused, flabbergasted that her companion and this new contender knew one another. From the look on his face, she was right to act dumb, since he did not seem to like the idea of Thor being _happy_ to see the Grand Champion. In fact, he appeared to be a bit worried.

However, his worries dissipated when the Hulk ignored Thor’s several attempts to persuade him to back down. The two fought wildly as pieces of the ground and wall chipped off from their skirmish. Thor without his hammer was at a disadvantage and he was being thrown left and right as the Hulk utilized his sheer strength and size against the god.

“Yes!” Loki exclaimed as he jumped from his seat and punched at the air, “That’s how it feels!”

The Grandmaster and Morgan just looked at one another in bafflement before turning their questioning gazes back at Loki. It was no lie that she was curious towards his reaction, since she never witnessed Loki and the Hulk’s interactions, but it did not seem to be a pleasant one. He was always so composed so to see him this excited was quite uncharacteristic.

“I’m just a huge fan of the sport,” he explained with a sheepish grin, settling back into his seat. Accepting this, the Grandmaster turned back to the fight as he chuckled at Thor’s expense. Morgan just smiled, masking her discomfort with the same mask she used around the Grandmaster. So long as she looked like she enjoyed the fight, he would not question her.

With this, Thor gave up on making any more attempts to persuade the Hulk to return to Banner. Instead, he changed tactics and went in full swing. His oversized and oddly shaped hammer hit the Hulk with enough force to make him crumple to his knees. Still, the green mass swung his axe at Thor. Using his smaller size to his advantage, Thor leapt into the air and dodged the axe while simultaneously hitting the Hulk with his bulky weapon.

Utilizing the disorientated state of the Hulk, Thor leapt up and shattered the handle of the axe. He continued to swing his weapon at the Hulk, making the crowd become unsure on who to side with. The Grandmaster tensed up in his seat as he continued to watch the ever shifting battle. When it seemed like Thor finally had the upper hand, the Hulk caught his hammer just before it made contact. The Grandmaster and Loki both leaned in on their seats, and Morgan followed suit. She wasn’t as entranced by this battle as they were, but she didn’t want it to show.

Thor hurtled across the arena from the Hulk’s blow. As he stumbled backwards, the Champion left no room for him to gain his footing and jumped on top of him. The crowd cheered as the Hulk delivered swing after swing onto the grounded Avenger. Loki winced at the blows while the Grandmaster laughed at this turn of events, relieved to find his worries were unnecessary.

Unable to take any more, Morgan silently pushed out her powers to cushion the blows against Thor, shielding him from the blunt of the damage. Sweat beaded down her back as she strained to keep the barrier up just long enough for Thor to regain his standing. It was difficult to do it subtly, but it seemed like no one knew of her involvement. That was… Until she realized that Loki’s eyes were now trained on her.

Her concentration broken, her powers dissipated and her energy faded in the air. He eyed her suspiciously as all traces of her abilities disappeared, and then smiled while turning back to the fight. Her sweat now turned cold as the thought of Loki, the God of Mischief, discovering her last remaining secret when the crowd hushed. Their silence shook her from her thoughts and when she looked back onto the field, her breath was taken away.

The Hulk hurtled upwards as Thor punched the Champion with his electrically charged fist. Thunder boomed up in the sky as lightning intertwined with Thor’s body. The very air around him seemed to crackle with energy that buzzed from his form. His eyes shone a pale blue color as his very being seemed to fuse with the electricity that rippled around him.

The Grandmaster got up from his seat while Loki leaned on his knees in shock. Morgan just sat there, stunned by what had happened. She knew Thor was the God of Thunder, but she had assumed he could not summon lightning without his hammer. If he could do this, why had he not revealed it until now?

Electricity surged throughout his body as he and the Hulk charged at one another. The blow from his new powers hurtled the two backwards and the air pressure blew out at the audience. Their loose hair waved wildly in the wind and dust rose up from the ground. Though the glass protected the three, it shook slightly at the force and did little to appease the Grandmaster’s mood. He had promised Thor his freedom if he won the fight against the Grand Champion so having Thor win would be detrimental to the stadium.

“Thunder! Thunder! Thunder!” The crowd chanted, making the Grandmaster’s worries skyrocket. Thor was too stubborn to control and keep on Sakaar as the new Champion. If he won, the Hulk would lose his standing and the Grandmaster would have no one to replace him.

Before Morgan could stop him, the Grandmaster pointed his remote and clicked the button. Thor’s advancement stopped as he shook against the powerful wave of electricity that was forced into him through the taser that latched onto his neck. He lay on the floor, paralyzed, when the Hulk jumped into the air.

Ignoring the voice of caution, Morgan threw out her power and draped it around Thor just before the Hulk came crashing down. The force of impact shattered the crudely made barrier, making her bite back a hiss of pain that seared into her palms. It felt as though shards of glass had flown into her open hand and cut deep into the flesh. Blood dripped down from her palms and she quickly hid them away. No one paid her any mind since they were too engrossed on the outcome as they waited for the dust to settle. The Hulk roared in victory and the crowd joined him as they cheered his continued undefeated title.

She clasped her bloodied hands together, as if in prayer, as she alone stared down at the fallen warrior. No one expected a contender against the Hulk to be alive and she hoped that the blood she shed was not in vain. His chest began to go up and down, making her nearly crumple back into her seat as relief made her legs go weak.

The battle was over and Thor was alive. That was all that mattered.

Before the Grandmaster could celebrate another victory of his Champion, Morgan promptly excused herself. She clutched her skirt with her dripping hands, hoping that they would not bleed out for the world to see. It was a small price to pay for Thor’s life. What worried her more than her injuries were the blue eyes that followed after her as she left the room.

~

That night, Morgan paced around in her chambers. Her hands throbbed under the messy bandages she had made with pieces of the dress that she had ruined with her blood. They fit well, considering she only had herself to wrap them, and she tried her best to ignore the pain as she thought of ways to save Thor and the Hulk from this planet.

It was now easy to go to Thor, since he was being cared for in the Hulk’s room, but getting him out would be tricky. The device that stuck to his neck was near impossible to get off without the remote and she had no authority to have one on hand. In addition, if they were to escape, she knew where the carrier was, but convincing the Hulk to join them would be another issue they would face. He knew the people of Earth didn’t like him and he enjoyed the pampered treatment he received from the Grandmaster. No one had treated the Hulk this way before so he wasn’t too keen on abandoning it for anything less.

Then, there was a knock at the door.

Silence filled the room. Her heart pounded in her chest and she tried her best to catch her breath. Who could it be at this hour? The Grandmaster had never come to visit her in her room. If he wanted her somewhere, he would send for someone else to deliver the message. She was not prized enough for him to come down himself. There were times he did call for her when there was a party he threw at night, but even he would retire to his bed at this late hour. The only other person was…

She quickly pulled a blanket around her, hiding her hands within, and made her way to the entrance. Taking in a deep breath, she pressed the button that would slide the door out of the way and knew exactly who to expect.

“Loki, what a pleasant surprise.”

“Morgan,” the mischievous god greeted with a smile that mirrored her own, “we should talk.”


	5. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After so many years of waiting, Morgan finally has a plan to return to Earth. Reuniting with Thor, she teams up with the newly formed Revengers team and is off to make an escape from the planet of Sakaar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Based on the movie - Thor: Ragnarok

“…We should talk.”

Morgan leaned against the door frame to prevent Loki from entering as she smiled up at him with her mask of innocence. He was wearing his usual uniform, making Morgan wonder how many pairs he had on him. The Grandmaster would have been delighted to choose out some clothes for Loki, just as he had done for her, but he never seemed to change out of them. Perhaps it was made of magic…

“The last we _talked_ , Loki,” Morgan began, pushing aside the pointless questions that drifted into her mind, “my mouth tasted like metal throughout the day.” The wound was still healing and anything acidic she drank burned against the sore injury, making her hate Loki just a little bit more.

“And for that I apologise,” Loki lowered his head slightly, as though he genuinely did feel sorry for having Morgan resort to biting her own tongue, “But I really have more things I’d like to discuss with you.”

“Go away,” Morgan groaned as she hid a yawn under her blanket, “I’m too tired to deal with you.”

“This will only take a moment,” a snide voice answered back from within the room.

Morgan turned around to find Loki casually taking a seat at her bed and when she turned back to the god that stood outside the entrance, he was gone. She frowned, knowing that her initial plan to set aside his pestering for another day was futile. He merely smiled, beckoning her back inside so that they could talk in private.

_I refuse to play your games, Loki…_ Morgan thought to herself as she eyed the man that now seemed to claim her bed for himself. What did he expect her to do? Sit on the floor? Certainly not on the bed with him, right?

“It’s rude to enter a lady’s room without permission,” Morgan warned as she glared at the intruder, “Or do they not have manners back in Asgard, Your Highness?”

“Now, now. Let’s just have a civilized chat.”

“Please _leave_.”

“But I quite like your room. It’s much bigger than mine.” Loki playfully stated as he leaned down on the bed and took in the space around him. “And leaving without any answers hardly seems worth the effort, wouldn’t you agree?” Loki’s eyes shifted to her hands covered in the blanket that was draped around her shoulders. “Like your injuries.”

At that, Morgan shifted her hands further from view.

“If you won’t leave then I will,” Morgan huffed out as she took a step out the door. She smiled to herself as she heard the bed sheets rustled with movement. As she turned the corner, Loki’s footsteps made their way across her room. It was clear he was starting to get impatient with her from the sounds of his steps.

“Wait-” He began but when he stepped out the door, there was no one there. He looked down both hallways and stood there, astonished by how quickly Morgan had disappeared. His anger was forgotten and in its place was curiosity as he began to think about who she really was and how she was able to do these strange things. Vanishing seemed to be one of them.

“How amusing,” he chuckled to himself, though he made sure he was loud enough to be heard. With that, he made his way back to his chambers and silence was all that was left behind.

Morgan clung to the ceiling as she continued to watch Loki walk further down the hallway. Her powers concealed her from sight and the energy she released pressed her back against the roof so as to not let her fall. Just as Loki’s figure turned the corner and was out of sight, she slowly made her way back to the room.

The moment her hands brushed against the door frame, however, a surge of pain made its way up her arms and it took all she had to bite back a loud cry. Her powers wavered at this and in an instant, she fell hard onto the floor. She groaned as her body ached from the hard impact and she flipped over onto her back to glare up at the ceiling.

“Damn you, Loki.” She muttered to herself, promising to one day pay him back for this.

~

As Morgan made her way to the Grand Champion’s chambers, she noticed Thor next to the window looking down at the city. His hair was freshly cut for the tournament and his body seemed bruised from the battle. He appeared to be talking with someone and she could only surmise that it was the owner of the room.

“Thor! You’re awake!” She exclaimed as she hurried off to greet him. However, in that moment a green mass made its way over to the window, making her freeze in her tracks.

“That’s… Uh… Naked,” Thor said more to himself than to anyone else as he averted his eyes to the roof.

Morgan couldn’t agree more. She tightly shut her eyes as she blindly walked over to the two of them, tripping over many things that littered the room along the way.

“That’s in my brain now…” Thor muttered, his voice being a beacon that guided Morgan to where she needed to go.

“I’m with you on that one,” Morgan agreed as she finally opened her eyes and was relieved to see more of Thor than anyone else. Thor opened his eyes and beamed at the familiar sight.

“Nite!” Thor exclaimed as he brought her into a tight bearhug. She laughed and enjoyed his warm embrace, almost caving in to the feeling of being in the arms of another being, regardless of the fact that he wasn’t really a person. “It is good to see you again.”

“You too, Thor,” she sniffed as she began to hug him back. That was when her wounds brushed against his back, making her flinch from the forgotten pain. She had covered them with gloves that matched the dress she wore that day, but the slightest touch still made the fresh wound sting. Thor caught on to this and looked down at her, his eyes questioning her odd behavior, but thankfully his attention was drawn away.

“Quinjet,” Hulk grunted as he pointed out the window. At that, Thor quickly let Morgan go and moved closer to the window to see where the Hulk was pointing.

The massive, green man walked past Thor as he greeted Morgan with a smile and a huff. She smiled back at him, making sure to look anywhere but down, and strolled over to where Thor was standing.

“Yes, yes!” Thor whispered to himself before turning back to Morgan and the Hulk, “I’m getting us out of here. This terrible, awful place.” It was like Thor had taken the words right out of her mouth. She pictured her house back on Earth and pondered how her family would react to seeing her after all these years, though it was more so for Morgan than it was for anyone on Earth, when… “You both would love Asgard. It’s big. It’s golden, shiny…”

“We’re not going back to Earth?” She asked, her face falling at the ray of hope that began to move further away from her yet again. “But-”

“Hulk stay,” the Hulk interrupted, ignoring Morgan’s plea to return to Earth.

“No, no, no. My people need me to get back to Asgard,” Thor countered, his sense of urgency trumping her own, indicating that something must have happened. _It would explain how he wound up here without his hammer._ “We must prevent Ragnarok.”

“Ragnarok?” Both Morgan and Hulk repeated, unsure of what that was.

Thor desperately tried to convince the two as he explained what exactly Ragnarok was. Seeing him like this made her want to help out her friend, but the last time she helped the people… She wound up on this rock of a planet. Though the Grandmaster had been good to her, it was always stressful knowing that one wrong move could lead to him having her publicly executed for her insolence. The constant parties and the endless feeling of the lack of time wasn’t exactly the same as being surrounded by friends and family. Oh, how she missed home.

“If you help me get back to Asgard I can help you get back to Earth.”

Those words were all Morgan needed to go along with Thor. Those were the words she yearned for. She had waited nearly _thirty_ Sakaarian years to go home. She could wait just a bit more to help out a friend, right?

Then the two Avengers began their little banter as the Hulk discussed his reasons for staying while Thor tried to lie in order persuade Hulk to join him. The emphasis was _tried to_. Lying was really not his forté.

Morgan watched to the side quietly, understanding Hulk’s side of the story more than Thor’s. It was true that many people feared the Hulk. His moments of rampage greatly outweighed his contribution to society in the eyes of the public so he was seen as more of a weapon of destruction than a god-send. Earth certainly did not act like they wanted him back so why should he be happy on returning?

“Thor go. Hulk stay,” the Hulk simply said, ending the argument.

“Fine, stay here,” Thor huffed as he made his way towards the exit. “Stupid place. It’s hideous, by the way. The red. The white. Just pick a color.”

As Thor turned towards the exit, Hulk’s claim on winning the battle drew his attention back to the green man. Distracted by their little dispute of who won the fight, Morgan forgot one little thing as Thor inched closer to the exit.

“You’re a big child!” Thor yelled back at the Hulk after he had thrown the fruit he was eating at the god.

“Thor go,” Hulk countered.

“I _am_ going!” Thor yelled back. The two reminded her of little children, making her smile at the innocent sight of it all. It was then that she realized what had slipped her mind.

“Wait!” Morgan shouted, but she spoke up too late.

The door frame recognized the taser that still latched onto Thor’s neck as he stepped one foot out the exit. A loud buzzer blared as a red field descended, shocking Thor and shaking him with powerful pulses of electricity. He yelled out in pain, falling to the floor, while the Hulk laughed. Morgan winced and hurried over to the fallen god, checking to make sure he was ok.

She sighed when she saw that he was unhurt and sat beside his limp body. _This isn’t going to be easy…_

~

“Angry girl,” Hulk called out to the _Valkyrie_ , as Thor called her.

“Hi, Scrapper 142,” Morgan greeted, genuinely glad to see her.

The Hulk and the scrapper did their little routine fighting game as they both playfully batted at one another. It was much too violent for Morgan to join in, since she didn’t have tough skin like an Asgardian or the Hulk, but she envied how they always were able to have their fun.

“What’s going on? What’re you-” but the scrapper stopped mid-sentence as she made eye contact with Thor.

Earlier, Thor had briefly explained what a Valkyrie was to Morgan. From the look of it, the legendary warrior wanted nothing to do with Thor or with Asgard. Something big must have happened that made the scrapper denounce her home planet altogether like that.

“I need her to stay,” Thor instructed the Hulk as the Valkyrie made her move to leave.

“Stay,” Hulk grunted as he ripped out the ornament of his bed and threw it across the room. However, he miscalculated and threw it too close to her head. Energy surged through Morgan as she threw out her powers and deflected the object off of its trajectory, biting down hard on her bottom lip as the collision against her powers mirrored onto her damaged palms. It bounced off her roughly-made shield and crashed down in front of the scrapper, making her stop in her tracks, as the Hulk had originally intended. “Stay! Please?”

“Please,” Thor pleaded, his tone serious and his need to go back great. Morgan silently begged alongside them as well, the throbbing in her hands making her look all the more sincere.

“Alright,” she conceded as she turned back around and made her way towards the beverages on the shelf, “I’ll listen to you ‘til this is empty.”

“That’s not a lot of time,” Morgan warned, hoping Thor could talk fast enough for her to actually hear some of the details.

Before he could get much out, however, the scrapper had downed the whole drink and dropped it to the floor. Glass shattered as Morgan sighed, predicting that this would happen, and debated whether she should just block the exit with her abilities to at least get the stubborn Asgardian to listen.

“Finished. Bye,” the Valkyrie called as she sauntered back towards the exit.

“Odin is dead.” There was a small sound as the shock of the news made Morgan lose her balance and fall off the Hulk’s bed. The sudden fall made her instinctively stick out her hands to catch herself and a surge of throbbing pain filled her senses as she gasped as quietly as she dared. Thankfully, everyone was too distracted to notice that she did not rise from the floor. “Hela, the Goddess of Death, has invaded Asgard.”

“If Hela’s back then Asgard is already lost.”

“I’m going to stop her.”

“Alone?” Knowing that her absence would be noticed if she lay on the floor any longer, Morgan rose at the Valkyrie’s question and wiped away the tears that welled up in her eyes.

“Nope. I’m putting together a team.” Thor seemed almost brimming with confidence. Where he got it was beyond Morgan. “It’s me, you, her, and the big guy.”

“ _Her?_ She’s not a fighter,” the scrapper scoffed, still being left in the dark about Morgan’s true powers. Her eyebrows scrunched slightly together as she examined the human more closely. Morgan’s face was pale from her struggle with the pain but she smiled the same smile she had used to reassure the children and Captain America back in New York. The Asgardian eased slightly as she turned back to Thor.

_That smile never fails!_ Morgan exclaimed proudly to herself as she mentally punched the air in victory.

“She’s just a kid,” the Valkyrie continued.

Though being called a kid sounded like an insult, Morgan merely shrugged it off. Considering the scrapper was from Asgard and had lived on Sakaar, where time flowed differently, she could very well have been millions of years old. With Morgan’s twenty-eight years here on this planet, plus the age she arrived, forty-nine seemed like an infant compared to several million. Morgan was actually thankful that the scrapper considered her a kid rather than a baby.

“She is full of surprises.” Thor proclaimed as he gave Morgan a beaming smile. Her face began to grow hot at the sudden compliment, making her blush. Giving compliments were quite easy for Morgan, since she had been doing it non-stop for nearly thirty years, but receiving them were almost foreign to her. Especially when they were genuine.

“No, I’m not team. Only Hulk,” The Hulk interrupted.

“It’s me, you, and her.” Thor adjusted his previous statement, his composure not wavering in the slightest at the fact that one of the strongest members had backed out.

“I think it’s only you and her,” The Valkyrie huffed as she turned to leave. “I’m not getting dragged into another one of Odin’s family squabbles.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Your sister.”

“You’re going to battle your _sister_?!” Morgan gasped. “Wait… First your brother and now your sister? What’s with your family, Thor?”

The Valkyrie continued on, ignoring Morgan’s outburst, and the description of Hela only made Morgan’s blood drain cold. Rather than a god… She sounded more like a monster. Who could masacre all those people without even blinking an eye? Had she no guilt? No conscious?

“I only survived because…” She stopped, her voice catching in her throat as she fought back the traumatic memory. “Look. I already faced her once back when I believed in the throne, and it cost me everything.”

Thor attempted once more to convince her, but him gripping onto her wrist was a bad move. Before Morgan knew what happened next, the Valkyrie drew her blades on the god and pointed them directly at his throat, but he merely brushed them aside. That was when she noticed his hand slipping into one of her pockets.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For this,” Thor answered as he flaunted the true goal of this meeting. It was the controls for his taser! “Didn’t see that, didja?”

For a moment, Thor looked rather cool as he got the object off of his neck and spoke of confronting problems rather than running from them to the Valkyrie. That is… Until he threw that ball into the window. It bounced right back, hitting Thor in the face and knocking him to the ground. The others smiled while Morgan winced at his blunder. Still, he got back up and threw himself out the cracked glass. It shattered as he slid down the side of the building, expertly jumping onto the next to slow down his fall.

“Thor!” Morgan squeaked, worried for his well being as she also dove out the window.

“Friend stay!” She heard the Hulk yelling after them.

~

“Good shot!” Banner exclaimed.

A lot had happened after that. Bruce Banner was finally back, though a bit confused from being the Hulk for several years, and the Valkyrie had agreed to help Thor take back Asgard. Loki seemed to have something to do with it, considering how angry she was whenever he spoke, but Morgan couldn’t really say it was reassuring to have him temporarily on their side. Still, it was with his help that Thor had been able to steal one of the Grandmaster’s ships.

“Thanks,” the Valkyrie replied as the ship raced off to catch up to Thor in the Grandmaster’s carrier. “Open the doors,” she instructed Thor.

When the doors opened, she flew her aircraft right below the Grandmaster’s and opened up the glass doors that were above their heads. Morgan was thankful she had changed back into the clothes she was wearing when she first arrived on the planet Sakaar. If she were wearing one of the many dresses the Grandmaster had prepared for her, there would be no way to control the fabric that would have been lifted up by the air current.

“I hope that you both are tougher than you look!” She yelled over the roaring of the wind that blew wildly in their ears.

“Why?” Bruce asked at the same moment Morgan gasped out, “Oh, no!”

In an instant, the seats below the two of them shot them upwards out of ship and into the air. Bruce screamed as his limbs swung everywhere to get a proper footing on anything he could grab on to. Morgan, on the other hand, quickly used her powers to gently get herself onto the carrier. She just barely dodged him from colliding into her as he flew in through the door, hit against the roof of the vehicle, and nearly fell back down on the other side.

Thor laughed as Banner’s lower half swung in the opening and Morgan drew out her powers to help him fully board the ship. If her hands weren’t in their current condition, she would have physically helped him up and conserved her energy, but the Valkyrie had explicitly told her not to touch anything.

“I have no idea how you got these wounds.” Morgan recalled the scrapper muttering as she tightly bound her hands in fresh bandages. “I’ve never seen anything like this. Hiding them was even more stupid of you.”

Morgan couldn’t ignore Bruce’s precarious situation. Just when he was finally fully aboard the ship, the sound of explosions and blasts were everywhere as other aircrafts flew close and shot at both vehicles. In addition to the aircraft weaving past the buildings and maneuvering around the oncoming bullets, the two in the back struggled for balance.

“Shouldn’t we be shooting back or something?!” Bruce yelled as he gained his footing and sloppily made his way over to Thor with Morgan close behind.

“Yes, we should,” Thor agreed as he looked around for the right button. “Where are the guns on this ship?”

The explanation they received was unfavorable, to say the least. Before the image could take form, she quickly shook her head and focused at the task at hand. It was well advised not to touch _anything_ on the ship.

“Wait a minute…” Morgan paused and looked around the vehicle. “Where’s Loki?”

“Worry not, Morgan,” Thor chuckled, “He will not be returning with us.”

She glanced back at the Grandmaster’s home, recalling his clever smile and mischievous wit. It would be a lie if she said she wasn’t disappointed. His abilities were useful and knowing where they were headed, he would be very useful in the fight that was to come. They could use all the help they could get, but him abandoning his home planet for this place… Now that was quite a let down.

_I was really hoping he had changed…_ Morgan sighed and returned to the escape at hand.

Soon the battle became heated as the Valkyrie’s ship exploded and she jumped around by foot. When he witnessed this, Thor left the controls to Banner as he, too, jumped out of the carrier to help his fellow Asgardian. Bruce’s inexperience at flying the aircraft, and the panic he felt for being in this situation, made for a bumpy ride and balance was hard to find.

The doors were still left ajar when a shot nearly hit the vehicle. Banner, who was startled by the close proximity, jostled the jet and made Morgan stumble backwards. Her hands reached out for anything to hold, but the touch made her flinch back. In that brief moment, she lost her footing and the sensation of falling was all that she felt.

_Shit!_

“Morgan!” Bruce shouted as he saw her falling backwards into the open sky.

“Go! I’ll be fine!” Was all she could yell back. She couldn’t allow him to get distracted. Topaz, the right-hand-man of the Grandmaster, was right at his heels and he couldn’t afford to turn around just for her. If that ship fell, so would their plans to make it back to Asgard, and eventually Earth.

She caught herself from the fall and pushed herself upwards, dodging the oncoming ships while deflecting the projectiles aimed her way. Her powers strained to both protect and keep her in the air, but she had to get back to Banner without help. In the distance, Morgan could make out the Valkyrie and Thor’s figure as they fought their pursuers atop the flying ships. It amazed her how they could keep their balance and not be swept away by the wind. When the two finally noticed Morgan and looked up, their eyes widened at the sight of her.

_I can understand why she’s surprised to see me flying, but why is Thor…_ Just as the thought escaped her, something began to pull her higher into the sky.

“Morgan!” The two screamed as they witnessed everything that was happening.

She turned around at the same time a swirling vortex inhaled her small figure. It took all her energy just to surround herself with a barrier before everything spiraled out of control. She shut her eyes to the sickening feeling of hurtling through space at an impossible speed, her shield beginning to bend to the forces of the wormhole. Her newly layered skin on her palms tore open as the battered shield stayed strong at the expense of the flesh on her hands. The blood began to drench the bandages the Valkyrie had replaced just moments before the escape, tying it on rough and painfully to indicate how angry she was to discover Morgan so injured.

_So this is how I die?_ She pondered to herself as tears welled up in her eyes and her energy drained. It was getting harder to breathe and she could no longer stay awake. Just before she blacked out, the vision of home passed before her eyes. _I just wanted to go home…_

~

The sound of birds startled her awake and the harsh light of the sun beamed warm rays on her tattered body. A groan escaped her as she picked herself up off the grass to sit up and take in the area. Disoriented and a bit sick from everything that had happened, she nearly puked out whatever was left in her stomach but held it in. Blood caked the bandages that covered her hands, the red fluid already dried from the time she passed out. They stung terribly but the pain was nothing compared to what stood mere feet from where she sat. Her breath caught in her throat as she weakly got up from her knees and made her way towards the familiar sight, praying to whatever god would listen that this was not a dream.

_Home._


	6. Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After returning home, Morgan wants nothing more than just her normal life back. Still, that's now impossible since she has stepped foot into the world of superheroes. Will the average life style she so longed for never be within reach again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Based on the movie - Thor: Ragnarok & Captain America: Civil War
> 
> There might be some confusion about why I made it 28 years for Morgan on Sakaar. Since the science of it wasn't really solid and I didn't want to just spout a random number, I decided to do the math with Loki's two weeks to Thor's one day (I tried seconds but the resulting number was too big...). That's how I ended up with 28!  
> I don't know if anyone really cared about where I got that number, but if you were curious, that's how I got it :)

It had been a few weeks since Morgan had returned to Earth. What’s more was that it had only been a _week_ since she had been gone, which was not what she had heard from both Loki and Thor back on Sakaar.

_Time works real different around these parts. On any other world, I’d be like uh… millions of years old. But here on Sakaar…_

The Grandmaster’s words echoed in her head as she thought back to the many years on that twisted planet. Somehow, the wormhole that she was sucked up in had dropped her off on Earth two years before the fated Ragnarok that would occur on Asgard. When she discovered this, she tried to get word out to Thor but he hadn’t been to Earth since leaving after their battle against Ultron.

Perhaps she should have been thankful. Before Agent Hill had shipped her off to New York to prepare to fight alongside the other Avengers, Morgan had crafted up an excuse to go on a trip with her partners from school for a project that would take about a week or two. Though her family protested, S.H.I.E.L.D. had provided excellent material for her lie and they eventually caved in. When she discovered that it wasn’t two years but just a few days since her disappearance, her family’s laid-back reaction was somehow more acceptable.

Of course, her family was relieved to have her back, though they were surprised at the state she returned in. Still, they didn’t question the timing of her arrival and merely only bombarded her about the injuries she had on her hands. Her mother continuously nagged over the few days of her return, both worrying about the wound and also scolding her for not being safe.

After a few check-ups and lies on how she received those injuries, her hands were patched up nicely. They were torn up too many times for them to go completely back to normal, but the scars on her palms didn’t really bother her all that much. In fact, they reminded her of the sacrifices she made and the mistakes she needed to correct. Her powers were not invincible and the results on her hands were proof of that.

In just a few days, she was able to go back to campus and continue her bachelor’s degree. It was a lot of work to catch up on, but the arrangements S.H.I.E.L.D. had made before she left to fight Ultron helped her greatly. In just a few more months, she would be able to graduate without any issues. But there was always that nagging feeling within her, telling her that normal was a luxury that wouldn’t last forever.

_Whatever_ , Morgan sighed to herself as she settled back into her comfortable bed, throwing her gloved hands out on each side. _I’m back home and that’s all that matters_.

~

“Eleven Wakandans were among those killed,” the news woman reported as the TV hummed to life, “during a confrontation between the-”

“What are you watching?” Morgan interrupted, setting down her cup of water and settling beside her father on the couch.

“Shh,” he hushed, “I’m trying to listen.”

“…Lagos, Nigeria last month. The traditionally reclusive Wakandans were on an outreach mission in Lagos when the attack occurred,” the blond woman continued.

“Nigeria? _Wakandans_?” Morgan repeated, a bit confused, “What’s going on?”

“Just listen,” her father whispered, his eyes glued to the screen.

“…Not only because of the actions of criminals,” the man on the screen said, his title reading King T’chaka of Wakanda, “but by the indifference of those pledged to stop them. Victory at the expense of the innocent is no victory at all.”

_Another moral dilemma story?_ She thought to herself as she took a sip of water.

“Change the channel, Dad.” Morgan sighed as she reached for the remote. “This is making me depressed.”

“All the other channels are showing what went down in Nigeria too,” he replied as he snatched the controls away from her and flipped to another news channel.

“What legal authority,” a different reporter, this time male, droned on, “does an enhanced individual like Wanda Maximoff have to operate in Nigeria?”

She nearly choked on the water that had made its way halfway down her throat. Now _that_ got her attention. She knew that name. She knew that _girl_. But before she could confirm it, the television blinked off.

“Hey!” she yelled as she turned to her father. He raised his hands up, showing no signs of the remote, as his eyes shifted to the one behind him.

“It’s time to eat,” her mother warned as she waved the controls over their heads. “No TV. Just because you graduated college does _not_ mean you get to laze about the house, Morgan.”

Morgan pouted slightly but yielded to her mother as she got up from her seat and made her way over to the dining room table. Still, her mind drifted back to the words she heard on both channels and couldn’t help but think back to the girl they spoke of.

_Wanda…_ Her eyes watered when she remembered the news of her twin. Though Morgan hadn’t known him for long, she couldn’t help but tear up when she heard what had befallen him. It was a noble sacrifice, but the tragedy of it couldn’t have been easily erased. Especially not for Wanda, who only ever had her brother. _I hope everything’s alright…_

~

A few days had passed since then. All sorts of news were being discussed both at home and around the neighborhood. Morgan had no idea who the Winter Soldier was but if Captain America was on the run for helping him, he must have been a friend more than an enemy. She had known Steve for longer than she had known Stark and after battling alongside him, she knew she could whole-heartedly trust him. However, that didn’t mean she would readily jump into another one of their fights.

“We need your help,” a familiar voice rang on the other line the moment she answered her phone.

_Oh no, not this again…_

“Stop right there, mister,” Morgan scowled as she looked down at the unknown number displaying on the screen. “How’d you get my number?”

“It wasn’t that hard,” the man chuckled, “but that’s not important right now. You’ve heard about Steve, right?”

“Aren’t you retired?” she asked, countering his question with one of her own.

“Cap needed my help,” Clint replied with no hesitation in his voice, and she could almost see him shrugging from wherever he had called. “And he’s gonna need yours as well.”

“How’d you even know I was back?” Morgan questioned, knowing that many had presumed her dead or missing. No one from the Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D. had come looking for her so she thought she was in the clear. Maybe that was just her own naïve way of thinking after coming back to Earth.

“I’ll explain everything later but right now,” he began as his voice on the phone overlapped with another not too far from her. She quickly looked up and glanced around, finally spotting the man with the shades that waved to her in the driver’s seat of the black, sleek car. “Hop in.”

“Very subtle,” Morgan groaned as she hung up and ran over to where he had parked. She threw open the passenger doors and settled into her seat, making sure to buckle up just as he pulled away from the curb. “You are so cocky, you know that Clint?”

“Good to see you again, too, Morgan.” He smiled, “You and I have a bit of talking to do along the way to the Avengers Tower.”

“Avengers Tower? I thought we were going to meet Steve,” she questioned, gripping her seat belt tighter as Clint pressed down on the accelerator.

“Yeah, but we gotta make a few stops,” he answered, “But first… What’s with the gloves?”

~

“Oh, Stark is _not_ going to like this,” Morgan whispered as Clint hurtled another fiery arrow towards the burning trees.

“Relax,” Clint grinned as he sheathed his bow and began to sneak into the tower. “He’s rich. He’ll just plant more.”

Just as he had predicted, Vision phased through the walls of the compound and went off to inspect the damage. Wanda was left alone in the kitchen, looking out the window at the fire they had caused.

Suddenly, she turned around and laced the nearest knife with her powers, hurtling it towards Clint. Reacting on instinct, Morgan sent out her own abilities and knocked the blade off its trajectory, the force propelling it upwards and embedding itself deep into the ceiling.

“Guess we shoulda knocked,” Clint said, glancing up at the handle of the knife. It was the only thing that was visible, the metal digging deep into the roof. He looked over at Morgan and she sheepishly shrugged in response. _Oops…_

“Oh, my God!” Wanda sighed, walking over to the two, “Clint? And Morgan?!” She gave Morgan a quick hug, smiling with relief at discovering her to be alive. “What are you both doing here?”

“Disappointing my kids,” Clint replied as he walked past her and shot out two strategically placed arrows. Why he did that would probably have something to do with Vision. “I’m supposed to go water skiing.”

“That would be more fun than setting trees on fire and sneaking into the Avengers Tower,” Morgan mumbled, a bit jet lagged from the flight.

“Cap needs our help,” Clint continued, ignoring Morgan’s grumbles, as he grabbed both their hands and walked towards the exit.

“Clint!” Vision called, phasing through the wall just before they could take any more steps. “You should not be here.”

They paused and he slowly turned back to the artificial man who had stopped them in their tracks. Morgan groaned louder as she faced Vision and got ready to either fight or shield them from whatever attack was to come.

“Really?” Clint asked sarcastically, “I retire for, what, like five minutes, and it all goes to-”

“Please consider the consequences of your actions,” Vision interrupted as he slowly made his way towards the group, making Morgan rather nervous, when Clint looked both ways before answering.

“Okay, they’re considered.”

As if on cue, Vision curled in pain as electricity shot out from the arrows and paralyzed him from stepping any further. The static crackled in the air, making the hairs on Morgan’s arms stand on end. She rubbed them down, uncomfortable by the unstable trap, and turned away while Clint motioned Wanda to follow as he jogged towards the door.

The two stopped advancing when they noticed their party of three was now back down to two.

“It’s this way.” Clint pointed out.

“I’ve caused enough problems,” Wanda simply replied.

She looked down at the floor, clearly uncomfortable with the news of her and the people’s fear of her power. Morgan thought back to the Hulk, who also felt the same about Earth as Wanda now did, but she couldn’t quite phrase the words she wished to convey to console her friend. Thankfully, Barton beat her to the punch.

“You gotta help me, Wanda,” he began, now directly in front of her, forcing her to look him in the eye. “Look, you wanna mope, you can go to high school. You wanna make amends, you get off your ass.”

“Shit!” Morgan cursed, getting the others’ attention, just in time for them to see Vision blast out a ray of energy at one of the arrows that trapped him in place. The metal shattered and the volts of electricity ceased, allowing Vision to advance towards the three once more.

The artificial man took another step forward just as Clint pushed Wanda to the side and drew his bow. Another arm reached back and grabbed an arrow from his quiver, but Vision was already too close. The arrow phased through him as he pushed Clint back with inhuman strength.

The skilled ex-agent regained his footing as he drew out a weapon and mumbled, “I knew I should’ve stretched,” just before he got up and swung the rod at Vision. The weapon, like the arrow, phased through the man and Clint used his other arm and punched. It was easily blocked and all Morgan could do was drape Hawkeye with a layer of her power, protecting him from most of the damage Vision threw his way. When Clint foolishly tried to hit the red man with his bare fists, rather than phasing through him this time, his hand crashed against Vision’s face, which hardened against the oncoming blows. Thankfully, the protective shell Morgan wrapped around him prevented his knuckles from bruising, or even breaking, against the hardened flesh of the android.

Struggling against Vision seemed futile as he got behind Hawkeye and pinned him with his arm tightly wrapped around his neck. Vision’s artificial strength was just too much for a human and even Morgan knew her powers would lack the force it needed to even hinder him.

“Clint, you can’t overpower me,” the Vision stated, his grip tightening.

“I know I can’t,” Clint strained, “But she can.”

Vision and Morgan turned to Wanda who readied her powers in the palms of her hands. The red glow of her abilities twisted and turned as she drew closer to the two fighting.

“Vision, that’s enough. Let him go,” Wanda warned. “I’m leaving.”

“I can’t let you.” With his words, she pushed out her power and took control of the stone imbedded in the Vision’s head. His body involuntarily turned transparent as Clint phased through his intangible body.

“I’m sorry,” Wanda apologized as she drew her hands together, red energy twisting around the artificial man as he unwillingly crumpled to the floor, straining against her powers. The ground below him cracked under the weight of it all and Morgan held her breath at their struggle.

“If you do this,” Vision began, still grappling against the force of Wanda’s abilities, “they will never stop being afraid of you.”

“I can’t control their fear,” she replied, tears glistening in her eyes, “only my own.” And with one last push, the ground below Vision caved and he hurtled down floor after floor, being pushed further and further into the earth.

“Remind me never to get on your bad side,” Morgan teased, letting out a sigh of relief now that Vision was unable to stop them from leaving.

“Come on.” Clint huffed, trying to catch his breath from almost being knocked out from the choke hold, “We got one more stop.”

“One more?” Morgan repeated, feeling rather groggy from the lack of sleep. “Fine… I’m sleeping in the back until then…” And with that, the trio left the Avengers Tower and towards the dreaded battle that lay ahead.

~

Morgan awoke to the faint sound of voices outside the white van Clint had driven to pick up a man named Scott Lang, who also went by Ant-Man. She grumbled, tiredly massaging her face, as she sat up and peaked over the seat that divided her and the new recruit.

“What’s going on?” She asked, but was only replied with noises rather than words. He was no help, since he was more sleepy than Morgan was. She sighed and glanced out the tinted window, trying to get a feel for where they were. It appeared to be some sort of parking structure.

“How about our other recruit?” she heard a familiar voice ask, making her perk up slightly and rub out the sleep from her eyes. Morgan frowned at the lack of windows in the back of the van but rather than focus on that, she tuned in on the chatter that was going on right outside.

“We have two,” Clint answered and she could almost hear the mischievous smile that was plastered on his face. “The new guy’s rarin’ to go,” Clint continued as she felt the van door open, letting more light in that stung Morgan’s dry eyes. “Had to put a little coffee in him, but…” the loud sound of the door locking into place startled Scott awake. “He should be good.”

“What time zone is this?” Scott was still half-asleep as he stumbled out of the van, not noticing who exactly was in front of him. It was then that he looked up and his mouth gaped open.

“Come on,” Clint prompted. “Come on.”

As Ant-Man and Captain America greeted one another, Morgan rested her head on the back of the seat in front of her and motioned for Clint and Wanda’s attention.

“Who’s that guy next to Steve and the other stoic guy behind the blue car?” Morgan whispered, trying not to be rude. The last time she didn’t know who a superhero was, the shocked look on their faces was quite disheartening. She didn’t want to make that mistake again.

Wanda explained who they were, Clint adding in some snarky details that the other two smiled at, and filled Morgan in on the whole team. The Falcon and the infamous Winter Soldier. She learned a bit more about Bucky while on the ride with both Wanda and Scott. The information almost made her bawl like a child in the back of the car, but she held in her tears and nodded along to what the two had been saying during the trip.

Morgan peaked over at the Winter Soldier again and took in everything about this man. On the outside, his size resembled the Captain’s. The next thing she noticed was the metal arm that seem to almost glisten menacingly under the light of the sun. If that was all she accounted for, she would have avoided the man with all her power, but that wasn’t what stood out to her. The look in his eyes as he quietly observed his best friend’s interaction made Morgan feel a pang of sadness deep in her heart. They looked happy and yet lonely, as though he were proud to see his friend surrounded by good people while also feeling sad to no longer be a part of it. Or perhaps he even blamed himself for the situation the Captain now faced…

“Captain America!” Scott exclaimed, snapping Morgan out of her thoughts. He turned back to the group near the van with a fanboy smile on his face. “I know you too. You’re great!” Scott added to not leave Wanda out. “I don’t really know you, but I’m sure you’re great too!” He said, trying to add Morgan into the loop as well. Before anyone could question who he was referring to, Ant-Man turned back to the Captain and patted his broad shoulders.

“Jeez,” he stated, though it didn’t make it any less awkward, and continued to ramble on. “Ah, look. I wanna say, I know you know a lot of super people, so thinks for thanking of me.”

Morgan stifled a laugh as he mixed up the words he wanted to convey to his hero. It was like watching a child getting starstruck when meeting his favorite celebrity!

“Who’s in the back?” Wilson interrupted, noticing movement within the van.

“Ah, I almost forgot,” Clint answered as he held out a hand for Morgan to take. “Let me introduce you to a fellow Avenger.”

“So I’m an Avenger now?” Morgan laughed as she took his hand and slowly made her way out of the van.

“Well, you’re definitely not a kid anymore.” He chuckled.

“Twenty-two is _not_ that old.”

“You know that’s not what I meant,” he grinned, hinting at her actual age from her life back on Sakaar. “Fifty is-” Before he could finish, Morgan lightly punched his arm, her gloves absorbing the slight impact. He was the only one who had heard the whole story and knew what she had been through. He was also the only one who knew how old she really was.

“Shut up, old man!”

“Hey! I’m _five_ years younger than you!”

Everyone else just stared at the two, unsure of what was going on, when Morgan heard someone call out her name.

“Morgan.”

Steve breathed out as he stepped over to her.

“Captain,” she replied, saluting playfully as her eyes watered from all the years she had missed her dear friend. He was one of the first Avengers she had ever gotten to know and the one who had helped her out the most.

Before she could extend out her hand in greeting, however, he enveloped her in a warm hug. “Thank God, you’re alive!”

She was surprised by the sudden embrace, but she smiled at the familiar feeling. Morgan savored the super soldier’s warmth before recalling a distant memory. Her genuine smile turning to a mischievous grin as she patted his head just like he had done for her when she had thrown her arms around him way back after the attack in New York **[Author’s note: Chapter 1 - Discovered]**.

“I’m glad to see you well,” she said while mimicking the awkward smile he had given her all those years ago. His chuckling rumbled throughout his body, reaching her just before they pulled apart.

“Where have you been?” He questioned. “Natasha and I looked everywhere for you when you disappeared.”

“Sorry, there’s not really much reception on an alien planet,” Morgan shrugged.

“That’s a long story that we don’t have time for,” Clint interrupted before Steve could question her any further, giving a firm slap to the Captain’s back to bring him back to reality.

“Right,” Steve agreed and looked to both Morgan and Scott, “They tell you what we’re up against?”

“Something about some psycho-assassins?” Scott answered, though it seemed more like a question.

“I got the whole story since Clint picked me up first,” Morgan replied with a playful thumbs up and an understanding smile as she looked both at Steve and Bucky. He was surprised at being noticed but returned her smile with one of his own.

“Then you know we’re outside the law on this one. So if you both come with us, you’re a wanted man.”

“Yeah, well, what else is new?” Scott sighed and nodded his head to the Captain’s words.

“We should get moving,” Bucky finally called over, his arm leisurely resting on the roof of their small, blue car.

“We got a chopper lined up,” Clint informed just when a warning blared in the speakers above.

“What? I don’t understand what they’re saying,” Morgan asked when she heard the foreign language.

“They’re evacuating the airport,” Bucky replied, answering her question.

“Stark.” Steve sighed. With that he looked to everyone with seriousness edging his features. “Suit up.”


	7. War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morgan takes part in a battle she never even dreamed possible. She knew the Avengers team always had their differences, but never did she think they could fight one another to this extent. Not only that, but she was now a part of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Based on the movie - Captain America: Civil War

_This is so wrong…_ Morgan thought as she watched Stark and his friends gang up against Steve. _Why is this team always so broken…_ She sighed to herself as she impatiently waited for the Captain’s signal and silently observed the scene that unfolded.

“Alright,” Stark declared, “I’ve run out of patience.” He brought his hands up to his face and yelled out, “Underoos!”

At that, something white shot out and clung to Cap’s shield. A red and blue figure leaped out and snatched the weapon away while simultaneously tying up the Captain’s hands together. The person landed on the small vehicle close to Stark and the others, his costume reminding Morgan of a spider. It was then that she realized the material that tied up Captain America’s hands looked an awful lot like the webbing of an arachnid.

“Nice job kid,” Tony said.

“Thanks!” The spider-person exclaimed, “Well, I could have stuck the landing a little better. It’s just a new suit- Wait it’s nothing, Mr. Stark. It’s perfect. Thank you.”

“Yeah, we don’t really need to start a conversation,” Tony interrupted the stranger’s rambling.

“Okay,” he replied a bit out of breath and then turned back to Cap, “C-Cap-Captain,” he saluted, “Big fan. I’m Spider-Man.”

Morgan tried to suppress a smile, his stuttering speech reminding her slightly of Ant-Man’s earlier star-struck attitude with Captain America. _He sounds young…_ Actually, she couldn’t help but think he sounded very familiar. Did she know this kid behind the mask?

“We found it,” Sam said through the earpiece, shaking Morgan from her thoughts, “The Quinjet’s in hanger five, North Runway.”

That was the cue.

Captain America lifted his bound hands in the air and an arrow whistled past as it accurately sliced through the webbing. Iron Man turned his back to Steve, his helmet locking in place over his head, as he surveyed where the arrow was shot from.

“All right, Lang,” Captain America mumbled into the comms.

With that comment, Ant-Man jumped off the shield and grew in size as he kicked the unsuspecting Spider-Man, stealing back the Captain’s shield.

“I believe this is yours, Captain America,” he announced, handing back the weapon to its rightful owner.

Peaceful negotiations were over. Everyone began to run around as they each had their own objective. They all had their own battles to face - except her. Morgan’s primary objective was to get to the jet without being detected. It was the perfect job for her since her powers allowed her to erase her presence almost completely. Even computers had a hard time keeping track of her movements, so long as she didn’t lose concentration.

“What the hell is that?” Bucky’s voice questioned through the ear piece as Morgan ran through the terminal towards where the Winter Soldier and the Falcon were headed.

“Everyone’s got a gimmick now,” Sam grunted.

Then she heard the sound of glass shattering and Sam yelling. She could faintly hear that familiar kid voice that she now identified as Spider-Man. He sounded rather excited, complimenting Bucky’s metal arm, which seemed like an odd thing to be talking about during a heated battle. In fact, talking at all in battle was rather odd.

_Gotta hurry, gotta hurry, gotta hurry!_ Morgan chanted in her head as the air continuously shifted around her to hide her from sight. She was nearing the two’s location and could faintly make out their skirmish through the broken glass windows.

“This might be a bad time to bring this up,” she began, a bit out of breath, “but I have no idea where the hanger that Sam mentioned is.”

“Just follow Bucky and Sam!” Cap huffed out as he struggled with the whoever was attacking him this time.

“Roger that, Cap!” Morgan answered and propelled herself upwards through the broken glass opening. The only problem was… The two were a bit preoccupied with a certain spider to actually get anywhere.

_I guess I should help them out…_ Morgan sighed internally as she rushed off after the three. She was just in time to see Falcon struggling with the kid when Bucky hurtled something at the spider.

“Oh, God,” Spider-Man gasped as he turned just in time to dodge the oncoming projectile.

Bucky ducked away behind a pillar, both of her teammates oblivious to her presence, when she noticed Spider-Man going off to pick up the broken panel that the Winter Soldier had just thrown at him.

“Hey, buddy!” The kid called out, as Bucky turned to see his enemy, “I think you lost this!”

“Bucky, look out!” Morgan cried out as the object hurtled through the air towards him. The energy that surrounding her dissipated as she let go of the veil she used to cover herself and instead focused her power towards the broken panel. With a strong push, she knocked the object out of the air and away from where Bucky stood.

Spider-Man’s mask eyes widened when he saw Morgan appear out of nowhere while Bucky nodded in gratitude in her direction. She nodded back at him as her energy shifted again and she was once more gone from sight.

“Wait, you’re-!” Spider-Man began but he was unable to finish. Falcon had used the opportunity to charge into the boy, making him fall from his perch he stood upon.

Thinking fast, the spider shot out more webbing, lifting himself from under Falcon, and then shot out more at Sam’s wings. His wings retracted involuntarily as he propelled downwards towards the floor.

Letting go of her invisibility a second time, Morgan wrapped Sam with her energy and absorbed his fall just before he crashed into a cell phone stand. The glass shattered and the construct caved in on impact, but thankfully Sam was unfazed.

“Thanks,” Sam said as he got up from the floor, wiping off the glass that clung to his clothes.

Morgan just smiled as she quickly disappeared before Spider-Man could get another good look at her.

However, the moment was short-lived as the spider took this moment to shoot out webbing at both of Sam’s hands, pinning him to the railing. The kid then landed sideways on one of the airport’s infrastructure, perfectly sticking onto the flat surface of metal and plastic.

“Those wings carbon fiber?” He asked, genuinely curious on the material of the Falcon’s wings.

“Is this stuff coming out of you?” Sam shot back with a question of his own, a disgusted look plastered on his face. It was touching his bare skin, so of course he would be grossed out if those webbings were indeed coming out of this stranger’s body.

“That would explain the-” Spider-Man went into a scientific jargon as he geeked out over the material of the wings and its mechanisms, ignoring Sam’s question. Half of the things he said went over Morgan’s head as she tried to grasp what the point was in his long dialogue. “…Gotta say, that’s awesome.”

“I don’t know if you’ve been in a fight before, but there’s usually not this much talking,” Sam advised, getting slightly annoyed by the kid’s constant chatter. Bucky took this distraction as an opportunity and silently rushed towards the two, but the kid’s next move made Morgan dodge for cover.

“Sorry, my bad,” he apologized to Sam, leaping off and swinging into both Bucky and Sam, barely missing Morgan as she hurriedly got out of the way. Her teammates, on the other hand, were not that lucky and broke through the railing, tumbling down towards the floor below.

“Crap!” Morgan let escape as she hurried over to her falling team.

In that brief moment where she flickered in-and-out of focus from losing concentration, something flew at her. Reacting too late, her wrist was forced onto the railing with a sharp enough force that made her yelp in pain. Sticky, white webbing had pinned her down, restricting her movements.

Grabbing the webbing with her free hand, she ignored the goosebumps that made their way up her arm and tugged. It didn’t budge and shivers went up her spine the more she analyzed the web.

_Ugh… This looks so real! It feels real… God, I hate spider webs!_ Morgan cursed as she continued to struggle against the material but it was much tougher than it looked.

After the spider finished taking care of Sam and Bucky, he turned to Morgan as she uneasily tried to back away as far as possible against the webbing. Her wrist protested against her persistent pulling, but she needed some distance so she could calm down. The pain of her arm twisting against the web, Spider-Man inching towards her, her friends on the ground in whatever state the spider had left them, all of those factors were starting to make her panic. Feeling trapped was _not_ helping. However, the next thing Spider-Man said surprised her.

“Oh, my God… It _is_ you…”

“What?” Morgan asked, stopping her insistent struggles. Still, she cautiously readied her energy within her. It coiled around her, parts of her body already vanishing, but the kid just stood there, not making a move against her.

“It’s really you!” The kid exclaimed as he jumped up towards her. That made her flinch back, more of her disappearing from sight. “W-wait!” He stuttered, lifting up his hands to show he was not going to hurt her, “You might not recognize me with this on,” he said while pointing at his mask, “but I’ve been hoping I could meet you again!”

Morgan _did_ feel as though she had met this person before, but nothing really seemed to click. Her curiosity got the best of her and the energy she had used to vanish slowly disperse into the air. Though his face was covered by a mask, he looked relieved to Morgan when he saw that she was willing to listen.

“I’m really sorry-” He began, as he reached out his hand, but something latched onto his arm and yanked him into the air. He yelled in surprise as the object flew straight through the window, taking the mysterious kid with him in a matter of seconds. Spider-Man collided hard into the metal that held the window together, the flying thing letting him go as he fell to the ground. Morgan just stood there, stunned.

“You couldn’t have done that earlier?” Bucky moaned as he lay on the floor, exhausted.

Hearing his voice, she snapped out of it and willed her power into the material that surrounded her wrist. The webbing that had plastered her onto the railing snapped away, the energy that Morgan forced into the thin lining being too much for it to take. When she was free, she rotated her wrist and rubbed at the stiff muscles. Finding no injuries beside some minor bruising, Morgan made her way back to the two stuck to the ground.

“I hate you,” Sam grumbled.

“Need a little help?” Morgan laughed, pushing aside the disappointment of not knowing how Spider-Man had known her. _That matter can be put on hold for another day._

“That’d be great, thanks!” Sam called up as he stopped struggling against the webbing and relaxed.

“Jeez, what would you boys do without me?” She chuckled as she sent out her energy to snap the strange material off of her fellow teammates.

~

The whole team joined together as they raced towards the jet. Morgan followed behind them, invisible to the rest, but still very present. Bucky and Sam knew she was among them, though they had no idea where, while the others could only assume that she was.

Everyone stopped advancing, however, when Vision made an appearance, his beam breaking into the cement as if to draw a line of where they were not allowed to pass. He floated above their heads and while their attention fell to the android, but Morgan snuck around them all and continued on foot towards the Quinjet. That was her mission after all.

“Captain Rogers!” Vision called down, oblivious that one person had slipped past, “I know you believe what you’re doing is right. But for the collective good, you must surrender now.”

Iron Man’s team all gathered as well, jumping down from all directions to join Vision. Since no one knew Morgan was there, she nearly collided with the new king of Wakanda when he suddenly fell from the sky and landed next to Stark. She bit her lip, trying not to let the surprise in her voice escape, as she froze mere inches from him.

She held her breath as she slowly backed away from the man dressed like a black panther, and took her time going around him. Her powers prevented people from seeing her and erased her presence, but they didn’t make her invincible. If he had just clawed the air in front of him, blood would surely have been shed.

Only when she was a few feet away from both groups did she finally sprint to her destination. The jet was so close, but there was one tiny problem. She couldn’t fly the contraption. In fact, she didn’t even know how to _open_ it to get inside.

“Cap, we have another problem,” Morgan groaned as the fight turned full swing behind her.

“A bit busy!” He grunted back.

“Who are you talking to?” Morgan heard Iron Man’s voice question through Cap’s comms. That could only mean they were fighting each other.

“I’m at the Quinjet bu-”

“Talk later!” He interrupted, a bit distracted by the onslaught of attacks.

“Seriously, who are you talking to?” Tony yelled, “We’re all-”

“I _can’t_ open the jet, Steve, let alone fly the damn thing!” Morgan shouted over the sound of Stark’s voice, but then she realized that Cap could hear her perfectly fine, “Oops, sorry.”

“Wait for us there,” was all he said back.

She turned towards the fight, eyeing all the destruction of their skirmish, and leaned back on the cool metal of the Quinjet. Morgan looked up at the vehicle and sighed. _Great… Just great._

~

“We gotta go,” Bucky whispered, Morgan quietly listening in through the earpiece. There wasn’t really much else for her to do. “That guy’s probably in Siberia by now.”

“We gotta draw out the fliers,” Cap replied, a bit out of breath, “I’ll take Vision. You get to the jet.”

“You know I could occupy them too. Just let me fight and-” Morgan began but the Captain quickly cut her off.

“You’re staying hidden, Morgan.”

“I can fight too, Steve!” She protested. It wasn’t like she was aching to fight, especially not those she considered her friends, but anything was better than uselessly waiting alone by the carrier. Hearing everyone actually doing something while she just sat near the carrier was a bit humiliating.

“I’ll take Vision. You get to the jet,” Cap instructed, ignoring her complaints.

“No,” Sam countered, raising his voice to be heard over the wind, “You get to the jet. Both of you! The rest of us aren’t getting out of here.”

“As much as I hate to admit it,” Clint added, “if we’re gonna win this one, some of us might have to lose it.”

“This isn’t the real fight, Steve!”

“Alright, Sam. What’s the play?” Cap conceded.

“We need a diversion! Something big!”

“I could-”

“Someone else!” Steve cut Morgan off again. He was really starting to piss her off.

“I got something kinda big,” Scott finally joined in, “but I can’t hold it very long. On my signal, run like hell. And if I tear myself in half… Don’t come back for me.”

In a matter of seconds, metal creaking and breaking could be heard from where Morgan waited. She grew curious as more sounds of destruction crashed right outside, but she balled up her hands into a fist, her nails digging into her gloves, and continued to wait.

_There better be a pretty good reason why I have to wait here and do nothing, Steve_ , Morgan warned her friend internally as she stewed in her own impatience, _Even Scott is out there doing something and-_

“Morgan?”

A familiar voice startled her out of her thoughts as she quickly turned to find its source. Natasha Romanoff, aka. Black Widow. The second Avenger she had ever met. The ex-assassin. A great friend and a terrifying enemy. And right now, they weren’t really on speaking terms.

“Um…” Morgan’s throat felt incredibly dry and she couldn’t even muster up enough courage to actually say anything.

_I just had to ask for something to do, didn’t I? Why does the universe hate me?_

Her calculating gaze didn’t falter as the two just stared at one another. Morgan knew that whatever was going through that woman’s head was something she couldn’t even begin to comprehend. So much experience and training was imbedded into every fiber of Natasha’s being. How could she even begin to match up to this agent?

“N-” Morgan began, but Romanoff put a finger to her lips. She wisely did as Natasha instructed, noticing her eyes softening. For some reason, Morgan felt like she wouldn’t be battling this person. She didn’t know why, but Natasha wasn’t going to fight her.

Then, two figures finally made their way towards her. She nearly sagged in relief, but the joy was short-lived as a sudden ray of light shot out at the tall structure that towered over the approaching men.

“Steve! Bucky!” Morgan shouted as she thoughtlessly tried to block Vision’s ray from completely toppling the structure over.

“Don’t!” Natasha yelled, but she was too late.

The pain of blocking a power that defied all logic seared into her scarred palms and she screamed out in agony. It was too much for her to bear and her barrier didn’t even hold for a second as Vision continued to bring the watchtower down.

“Morgan!” The two yelled almost simultaneously as they saw her crumple to the floor in pain, clutching her hands close to her chest as if to cradle them from further damage.

The building finally fell, but before it could block their path, a red energy stretched out and blocked it from completely toppling over. Wanda grunted with effort as she held onto the heavy tower, helping out her friends so that they could achieve their mission.

Just as Morgan was finally coming back to her senses, the pain in her palms dulling considerably, Wanda screamed and her hold on the structure vanished. In that split moment, Morgan ignored the throbbing that cut into her flesh and sent out her own energy to take over Wanda’s job. Still, she was not as powerful as Wanda, who got her powers from the infinity stone embedded in Vision’s head. It was too heavy for her to hold for long.

“Hurry!” Morgan cried as beads of sweat dripped down her face.

The two finally made it in, but they were too distracted with Morgan’s predicament that they had missed the other person waiting for them in the room. Natasha sauntered over to the two men, gently squeezing Morgan’s shoulder as she passed by.

“Stay down,” she told Morgan, almost in a whisper, as she looked back toward the two super soldiers. “You’re not going to stop.”

“You know I can’t,” Steve replied.

“I’m gonna regret this,” Natasha sighed as she pointed her weapon at the men. Before any of them could make a move, she shifted her aim and in an instant, the Black Panther was brought down to his knees. Powerful electricity pulsed into the king as he crumpled to the floor.

“Go,” she advised her friend, who nodded in appreciation and jogged towards the jet.

As the two made their way over to the vehicle, Bucky reached out and grabbed Morgan’s hand, pulling her with them towards the carrier. She choked back the pain, her eyes watering slightly, as a small burst of her powers forced Bucky’s hand off of hers. It wasn’t enough to hurt him, but it was clear that a normal person’s hand would go numb from the amount of power she involuntarily used. Morgan quickly hid her hands behind her back before anyone knew what had happened. Both he and Steve stopped just for a moment, looking over at her with questioning eyes, but she just smiled that same smile back at the two of them. It had never failed her and she prayed it wouldn’t fail her today.

“Go,” she said as Natasha hit the king again with another volt of electricity, “I’ll stay behind. They might need me.”

Steve looked as though he wanted to protest, but Morgan turned her pleading eyes to Bucky. He hesitated, but then felt something strange and looked down at the hand that had grabbed her. The Winter Soldier immediately understood why she chose to stay, and nodded before dragging Steve aboard the ship.

The jet came to life as the two settled in their seats. It shot out at the remains of the fallen watchtower, moving away the bigger pieces that would hinder the jet from getting out. It was then that the Black Panther finally broke free of the taser Natasha continuously fired at him and leaped up to catch the plane before it could take off.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Morgan huffed as she knocked the king out of the air and back onto the ground. With that, it was too late for the panther to catch the Quinjet as it raced off into the open sky.

His face was covered by a sleek, black mask, but both Natasha and Morgan could feel his rage seeping out. He turned to Morgan but then brought his full attention onto the person who had betrayed his team.

“I said I’d help you find him, not catch him,” Natasha explained, holding her head up high, “There’s a difference.”

The two stared silently at one another as Morgan slowly brought her hands from behind her back, her arms shaking at the motion. She winced slightly and looked down at the blood soaked gloves. It was foolish of her to try and stop the full force of an infinity stone. All that raw power was unstoppable for a human such as herself. Blood dripped down onto the cement floor, seeping into the cracks, as she trembled just to keep standing. Bucky must have understood when he looked down at his own hand that was probably covered in her blood. He knew that if Steve had known, it would have ultimately hindered the entire mission, and she silently thanked Bucky for that.

“Shit,” Morgan laughed, more out of pain than out of joy, her consciousness slipping, “This really hurts.”

~

“Mom is going to _kill_ me,” Morgan groaned as she glared up at the security cameras that surrounded the room.

When the government had taken the team and imprisoned them in the middle of the ocean, their medical division had struggled with the gloves that were sticking to the dried blood on the palms of Morgan’s hands. Rather than think of a solution to slip them off, they decided the fastest way was to cut them off entirely. Now, they were probably lying in the trash, all tattered up and useless.

“Those were from my mom, you know!”

“Hey, Morgan,” Scott called from the other side of the cell, “Are you really fifty-years-old?”

“They were just joking,” Sam scoffed, “There’s no way she’s that old.”

“We might have been playing around,” Clint chuckled, “but I never lied.”

“I aged well, didn’t I?” Morgan smiled, though some of them couldn’t see that.

“That’s impossible,” Sam countered, “You’re just pulling our legs.”

“What’s your secret?” Scott questioned, his excitement seeping through the walls of the cage.

“I moisturize,” Morgan laughed, the others groaning at her playful comment.

Thankfully, since no one in the government even knew who exactly Morgan was to the Avengers, she was placed in a normal cell with the others. Wanda, on the other hand, had been taken to another, tighter cage since everyone knew of her powerful abilities. Due to the fact that there were no further restraints on Morgan, she could have escaped by herself, but it was too risky. In addition, she didn’t want to break out if the others were unable to come with her. Instead, she decided to wait for an opportunity to present itself. She didn’t have to wait too long.

“But going back to the topic,” Morgan glared back up at the cameras, “you people owe me a new pair of gloves!”

A figure walked up to Morgan’s cell after her remark, making her glance to the side with a bored expression. The person before her, however, was not the usual prison guard she had expected and she jolted upright with a beaming smile plastered on her face.

“I’ll be sure to buy them for you once we get out of here,” Steve chuckled, helping her out of her cramped cell.

The others were already stretching out their limbs as they enjoyed their new freedom. Wanda was also amongst them, her pale face turning brighter at seeing Morgan again. Before long, they filed out of the room and out into the open, basking in the rays of the sun and smiling to the cool ocean breeze.

“Hey, Captain America,” she began, grinning mischievously, “now that you’re a wanted fugitive, are you going to change your name?”

“No,” he smiled with the air of a leader, “because that name doesn’t represent the American government. It represents the American people. And I am loyal to nothing but the American dream.” **[Check Author’s Note at the bottom]**

“Alright, Cap,” Morgan nodded, the unexpectedly serious answer warming her heart, “Where to, now?”

“I’ll drop everyone off at where they all want to go,” he replied as everyone hurried into the jet Steve must have driven to get here. “I’m guessing you want to go home?”

Morgan shook her head, surprising most of the crew as she looked over the ocean with a sad smile.

“I knew the moment Clint came for me that a normal life was not something I could have anymore,” Morgan sighed, her mind drifting to the letter she had hid in her room for just this occasion. Eventually, her family would find it and hopefully… They’d understand.

“Morgan,” Clint spoke up, looking guilty for dragging her away, but she held up her bandaged hand to stop him.

“It’s not your fault,” she soothed, “If not you, then someone else would have asked for my help.” She paused, taking in a breath and finally putting to words the feelings she held and could never deny. “And I would have gone without another thought. That’s just how I am.”

“Is there any place you’d like to go?” Steve gently asked, “I hear Wakanda’s a nice place if you’re interested.”

“Doesn’t the _King_ of Wakanda kind of hate you for foiling his plan for revenge against Bucky?”

“A lot has happened since then.”

“Hmm…”

She was a bit curious, but her ambition was lost and she felt a bit depleted. There was no goal she could strive for, so motivation was hard to find. There was no family, hidden and safe, that she could return to, like Hawkeye. She didn’t have the never-ending loyalty towards the American people, like Captain America. And she wasn’t all that sure she could keep up with him, like Falcon, if she were to follow under the Captain’s command. In fact, it took most of her energy just smiling to reassure her fellow teammates that she was alright.

_Where do I want to go? What do I want to do?_

“Thank you for the offer, Steve,” Morgan finally answered, a particular spider flashing across her mind, “but there’s someone I’d like to meet before I leave.”

* * *

**Author’s Note:**  
The quote above is a mix of two Captain America quotes from the comics :)  
“I cannot represent the American government; the president does that. I must represent the American people. I represent the American dream, the freedom to strive to become all that you dream of being. Being Captain America has been my American dream.” - Captain America #180  
"I’m loyal to nothing, General, except the dream.” - Daredevil: Born Again


	8. Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a few months of searching, Morgan is just about to give up when luck happens upon her. Who is this mysterious web-slinger and how does he know Morgan?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Based on the movie - Spider-Man: Homecoming
> 
> Note from the Author: I wasn't really 100% sure on whether I timed this out correctly or not. From a bit of research online, I believed that Spider-Man: Homecoming took place only 4 years after Avengers movie 1 (which I though occurred in 2012, meaning Spider-Man happened in 2016), but in the movie it stated that it had actually been 8 years (2020?). I'm going to be sticking to my original timeline, which may be a bit off. I hope this clarifies any confusion.

“Two months,” Morgan grumbled to herself as she stomped off into the night.

It had been about two months since she had went off on her own to find the mysterious and elusive Spider-Man who had claimed that he had known her.

Clint had used his old connections to help her with a new identity, making sure she had everything she needed. If she wanted to, she could even start a new life. He had done everything he could to help her out and for that, she was grateful. But, the many weeks without results made her want to throw down everything and just mope around in her apartment room.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, an old flip phone that she carried with her at all times. She sighed and checked the screen to see that she had one new message.

_No surprises there._

Steve had given her a phone for him to keep in touch with her. Ever since he found out everything through Clint, he acted like a worried mother whenever they talked. Even his weekly check-ups were getting on Morgan's nerves, but she couldn’t say anything about it. She knew he was worried about her, especially since he felt responsible for dragging her into this mess all those years ago. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a bit trapped under his constant supervision.

Ignoring the message, she stuffed her phone back into her pocket and wandered further into the dark streets of Queens. This was her daily routine after finding out that Spider-Man lived somewhere here in New York. She had thought that eventually they would come across each other, but even after two months, he never appeared before her.

“Maybe I should just give up,” she sighed, talking more to herself than to anyone around her.

She heard Bucky was being treated back in Wakanda, so it seemed like a good place to hide away for the time being. After all, Morgan was still a wanted fugitive. Although there weren’t enough records of her to start an active search, they could still harass her family. By remaining hidden and with Clint’s help, she had faith that they would be kept safe even without her.

Just as she was about to head home for the day, she heard people talking up ahead. It was the middle of the night, so she found it odd that there were still some people out this late and decided to check it out. Given her cautious personality, it was only natural that she made herself invisible for the time being.

“…suit…?” she heard a voice ask. Morgan was still too far to really hear anything, so she inched closer to what could only be a park playground.

“…Including this heater.”

That voice made her freeze in her tracks. She couldn’t have heard wrong. That was _Iron Man_ , someone she had to avoid at all costs.

_Shit!_

“Whoa,” another familiar voice sounded, making her perk up despite the danger she was in. “That’s better, thanks.”

_Spider-Man!_

It was too dangerous to get any closer since Stark’s technology could have been adapted to detect her whereabouts. She could never be too sure with Tony, since he was always tinkering and adjusting his Iron Man suit. He was once considered her friend, but after the fight with Cap, he would have to obey the new laws and capture her on sight, whether he wanted to or not. That was the agreement he signed with the government after all.

“What were you thinking?” Iron Man questioned, his voice mixing in with the speakers in his suit, making him sound more robotic than human.

“The guy with the wings is obviously the source of the weapons!” the kid exclaimed, “I gotta take him down.”

“Take him down now, huh?” Tony repeated in a somewhat condescending fashion, “Steady, Crockett. There are people who handle this sort of thing.”

“The Avengers?”

“No, no, no. This is a little below their pay grade.”

“Anyway, Mr. Stark, you didn’t have to come all the way out here. I had that. I was fine.”

Their little banter went on for a bit, getting Morgan more confused than ever. She didn’t know who this “guy with the wings” was or what Tony meant when he said that he wasn’t really “here”. Morgan could hear everything that was going on, but without enough context and visuals, she was a bit lost.

“… Can’t you just be a friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man?”

The more they talked, the more Morgan thought Tony’s attitude towards the kid was similar to a protective father. He didn’t want to restrict Spider-Man’s privileges to save the people, but he also didn’t want him to throw himself into the fray and possibly get himself killed.

“But I’m ready for more than that now!” Spider-Man countered, unable to grasp Stark’s subtle messages.

_Jeez, Tony. You got to let him know you care about him. Disregarding him like a child will only make things worse._ Morgan internally sighed.

“No, you’re not.”

“That is _not_ what you thought when I took on Captain America!”

“Trust me, kid. If Cap wanted to lay you out, he would have.” _True, true._ Morgan nodded along. “Listen to me. If you come across these weapons again, call Happy.” Then, there was a sound of an engine starting up through Tony’s speakers.

“Are you driving?” Spider-Man questioned.

“You know, it’s never too early to start thinking about college. I got some pull at MIT,” Tony stated, ignoring the kid’s question, “End call.”

“No, I-I don’t need to go to collag- Mr. Star-” Spider-Man stuttered, but he was interrupted by the Stark’s personal AI, or F.R.I.D.A.Y.

“Mr. Stark is no longer connected,” it said before the sound of jets blasted Iron Man off into the sky, most likely to return to Avengers Tower.

“That’s awesome,” the kid sighed, a bit defeatedly.

“Maybe I could help you out?” Morgan finally chipped in, stepping out from behind the bushes, the energy around her dissipating, and nearly tripping when she saw that the Spider-Man was unmasked.

The two stared at one another, him jumping up at the sudden intruder, while she was surprised to have seen his face so soon.

“W-wait… I _do_ know you,” Morgan breathed out as her eyes widened in shock. It had been about four years since she had met him, so he had changed a lot, but his eyes were the same as ever.

“Oh, my God,” Spider-Man gasped.

~

There was no point in him hiding his identity now that she had seen him without the mask. In fact, he wanted to tell her who he was the moment he saw her again back in the fight with Bucky and Sam. However, it was neither the time nor the place.

Back during the attack on New York, Peter Parker was one of the kids she had saved when they were gathered around the unconscious woman **[Author’s Note: Introduced in Part 1 - Discovered]**. She had assumed he was the woman’s child, like the other children were, but he was just a kid who had seen their distress and wanted to help out. At the time, he didn’t have those spider-powers and couldn’t think of a way to do anything for them. That was when Morgan swooped in.

“I-I tried looking for you everywhere,” Peter explained as the two looked up at the stars, still sitting at the park, “but you weren’t with the others when they hid from the attack. I thought maybe… um…” He didn’t need to finish. Knowing the amount of damage the Chitauri army had caused, it didn’t take a genius to figure out what Peter was trying to imply. “If possible, I-I hoped we’d meet again, but I never realized you weren’t even from New York.”

“What would you have done if you did find me?” She asked, smiling at his nervousness at finally meeting his mystery hero.

“Um… I-I wasn’t looking to bring you any trouble- That is… I just…” he stuttered, making Morgan laugh and ruffle his hair.

“You don’t need to be so nervous,” she soothed, smiling at the kid with the warmest feelings she could convey to help calm him down, “I’m relieved to see that you’re alright after all these years.”

The memory of her back in New York overlapped with the current smile and he teared up, remembering the feeling of hope that had engulfed him when he saw her charge towards the monsters. A bit of him had assumed that she had died during the battle in order to save them, so when he saw her again for the first time in years, he almost cried right then and there.

“If I ever met you again, I promised I would tell you this,” he began, no longer stuttering and finally looking her in the eyes, “Thank you.”

She had thought this day couldn’t get any better when she had finally found Spider-Man, but his words were what truly made her day.

~

“So you almost caught those bad guys selling powerful weapons when another guy with wings threw you into the ocean?” Morgan relayed as she tried to take in the situation.

“Yeah,” Peter sighed as the two walked down the dark street. Since they had moved away from the secluded park, he had put his mask back on to hide his identity. “But thankfully, Mr. Stark put a tracking device on my suit so he saved me when I was in a pinch.”

“You know he really cares about you, right?” Morgan tried to convey, recalling Tony’s tone and getting a bit upset that he couldn’t portray his concern all that well.

“But if he would just _listen_ …” Spider-Man huffed before letting out a defeated breath. “Stay close to the ground? What is he talking about?”

Before Morgan could speak up for Tony, Peter stopped in his tracks and looked over at a grassy yard. The amount of wreckage they had passed illustrated the struggles he had went through to capture the van before the sudden new-villain appeared. Morgan followed his line of sight and also noticed an object glowing a deep, purple color in the darkness.

“Whoa,” Peter breathed out as he turned it over to get a closer look.

“What is it?” Morgan called as she walked over to him. Then, she heard a phone ringing. Instinctively, she checked her pocket, but then remembered that she set her phone to silent. “You know, you should really turn that on vibrate if you’re off doing superhero stuff.”

He chuckled nervously, not giving her a solid answer, when he picked up the phone and said, “Hey man, what’s up? I’m on my way back.”

After just a brief chat, he hung up the call sounding more dejected than ever. Iron Man’s lecture had hit him hard and whatever happened on the other line just added to his troubles. Morgan patted him on the back, trying to reassure him that at least one person had his back.

“Here,” she said as she passed him a piece of paper, “it’s my number. I’ll be in town for a couple more weeks before I have to leave. Call me if you ever need some help or just want to rant about Tony. I know he can be kind of a jerk.” Morgan slipped the mask off the top of his head and gently ruffled his hair before messily putting the mask back on him. “And don’t try to go through all this alone. Even heroes need back up once in a while.”

~

Morgan had planned to leave after she solved the mystery of Spider-Man, but his current situation made her rethink her strategy. His eagerness to please Stark made Morgan very worried on his judgement and couldn’t help but stay for just a few more days. After the whole debacle in Washington, her anxiety only grew worse. Steve had tried to reassure her, after she had filled him in about her delay, but nothing he said could ease her worries. When she heard a commotion down by the docks, she didn’t hesitate to rush forward.

“Peter-” Morgan called out when she spotted him sitting down on a ledge, overlooking the water and the damaged ferry, when another figure approached. She quickly shut her mouth, hiding behind whatever was around her, and concealed herself with her powers.

“Previously, on Peter Screws the Pooch,” Iron Man began, hovering a bit up in the air while Peter tiredly looked over at him, “I tell you to stay away from this. Instead, you hacked a multimillion-dollar suit so you could sneak around behind my back doing the _one_ thing I told you not to do.”

“Is everyone okay?” Peter asked, his voice slightly breaking.

“No thanks to you,” Tony answered.

“No thanks to me?” He repeated, now angry, “Those weapons were out there, and I tried to tell you about it, but you didn’t listen. None of this would’ve happened if you had just _listened_ to me. If you even cared, you’d actually be here.”

At that, the Iron Man suit opened up from the front, allowing Tony to just step out of it as it continued to hover. Peter took several steps back as Tony advanced, a bit shocked that he would come in person unlike the last time they had talked.

As the whole scene played out, Morgan could only watch silently. It was not her place to defend Peter. This was a lesson he had to be taught, but Stark’s harsh attitude made it hard for her to sit still. She bit down on her lip, trying to fight the urge to defend Peter, as Tony demanded he return the suit.

A few hours had passed since then. The two had left, so Morgan was there looking at the ocean by herself. She rested her arms on the ledge Peter was on just moments before. The calm breeze that played with her hair did little to ease her heart. She didn’t have to turn to see who was approaching her.

“I thought I saw you.”

Tony Stark, emerging from his suit, walked over to Morgan but neither made a move to fight. Though he was required by law to apprehend any wanted fugitive, he had come to her without that intent. After today, this conversation would have never happened.

“Tony,” Morgan nodded in greeting, then looked back at the ocean.

“Imagine my surprise when I saw you here in New York,” he chuckled, though there was no humor in his voice.

“You were pretty harsh on him, you know?”

“If I didn’t do this, he would have put himself in harm’s way again,” Tony sighed and settled on the floor, his back leaning against the stone structure.

“You’re his hero.” Morgan smiled as she took a seat beside him, “He can’t help but want to be like you.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“Hey, what if he still finds danger without the suit? Without it, wouldn’t the risks be higher?”

“He’s a smart kid.”

“Smart doesn’t always mean safe.”

“That’s why you’re here.”

Morgan looked to Tony, her eyes wide at what he was implying. Did Tony not arrest her because he knew she would be able to help Peter without the watchful and restricting eyes of the government? Or was she just an extra measure of protection if Peter were to still go looking for trouble to redeem himself to Stark?

_Well_ , Morgan turned away and huffed out a resigned laugh, _whichever is fine._

“Now that that’s settled,” Tony spoke up, drawing her attention back to him as he stood and helped her up, “what’s this I hear about you being _older_ than me?”

~

It was late at night when Morgan decided to check up on Peter. She couldn’t help but worry on how he was doing after his confrontation with Tony. He had told her a few days back that he had slipped in and out so that his aunt wouldn’t notice that he was gone. That’s how she knew which window to go to. Knocking a few times on the glass of the window, she waited but there was no answer. Since she was already very anxious on how Peter was doing, she couldn’t help but try to open it. Thankfully, it wasn’t locked.

She quietly slipped in, whispering his name, and scanned for him on the bunk bed. That’s when she noticed him lying on the bottom bunk.

“Peter,” she began but stopped when she noticed him curled up in his bed. He didn’t even bother to look up at her nor did he question why she was here. All he did was try to stifle his sobs that escaped his throat from the crying. “Peter?”

“I lost the Stark internship,” he mumbled, his voice cracking from choking back the tears.

“Stark intern- What?” Morgan had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, but she knew it was about Tony. “Peter, look at me,” Morgan gently coaxed and kneeled down to where he lay and placed a gloved hand to his back. His hair was wet, most likely from a late shower, and his pillow was soaked. Whether it was from the tears or his hair, Morgan didn’t know. “Peter. It’s me, Morgan. Talk to me.”

“Morgan?” He repeated, finally lifting his head and looking at her. His eyes were red, nearly dry from all the crying, but the tears just didn’t stop. “W-what are you doing here?”

“I saw the news report on the ferry,” she lied, helping him sit up, “but more importantly, are you okay?”

“I just… I wanted to impress Mr. Stark. To maybe…” He sniffed, rubbing his eyes to dry the tears. “I-I thought if I could… If I could catch the bad guys and show him that I was ready… He would…” His voice would not stop breaking. He breathed out a shaky, defeated breath and flopped back into his pillow. “I screwed up.”

“It’s going to be okay.”

“H-he said…” It took Peter a moment to find the words, trying very hard not to start bawling uncontrollably in front of her, but his body shook from the mistakes that came crashing down hard on his conscious. He couldn’t say any more and just silently cried into his pillow.

Morgan waited patiently by his side, patting him gently on the back, and just sat there without another word. She didn’t pressure him into speaking nor did she try to stop him from crying. He was only a fifteen-year-old kid. He needed to let it all out so that he could genuinely reflect and grow.

Eventually, he fell asleep. Peter was dead tired from everything that had happened and he was mentally drained from Tony’s harsh lecture. Though she was also mad after hearing about the recklessness of it all and angry that he didn’t call her for backup, seeing him like this… He didn’t need another lecture.

Allowing her energy to flow off of her, she pulled the excess moisture from his hair away and laid his blanket softly on him. She whispered a quick goodnight, quietly making her way back to the window, before jumping out, locking it shut, and calling it a day. Perhaps he’d talk it over with her tomorrow, if he wanted to.


	9. Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With no suit to fight crime with, Peter has returned to his everyday life as an average, smart kid from Queens. Morgan does her best to keep his spirits up but when the winged vulture appears again, it's up to the two of them to foil his evil plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Based on the movie - Spider-Man: Homecoming

Some time had passed since Peter had to return his Spider-Man suit to Tony.

Though he had not known Morgan for that long, he had met her as a child and for nearly four years, he had idolized her as an incredible hero. In addition to the fact that she had fought alongside the Avengers on a few occasions, and the small detail of seeing him cry, he trusted her almost right away to fill her in on everything. Of course, she already knew everything, but she let him get it all out of his system and listened to him patiently.

After that day, he would call and text her every so often. She finally met his best friend, Ned, and the three would talk about the Avengers together. They would laugh about what happened during Civil War, careful whenever bringing up Tony, and tried to enjoy the peace they had. Morgan could see that Peter was still worried about the man with wings, but she tried her best to get his mind off of it all and assured him that Tony would handle it. Rather than see him down, she liked it when he was excited about the upcoming Homecoming. That was also why she hadn’t seen the two of them in a while, since they were getting ready for their school dance.

That was when she received a call.

“Peter!” Morgan exclaimed. “What’s going on? How’s the dan-” The sound of car tires screeching and wind whistling made her freeze and turned her vivid enthusiasm to desperate worry. “Peter? What’s going on? What’re you-”

“I’ll explain everything later, Morgan!” Peter yelled over the wind to be heard, “You know how you said even heroes need backup?”

“Peter, where are you?” She questioned a bit more urgently, “I’ll be there. Just tell me where you are!”

“Can’t talk!” He shouted, the sound of the accelerator roaring from the force he must have put on the pedals, “Just, please go to the Avengers Tower! The wing guy is planning to steal their shipment of Stark tech!”

“What?!” Morgan gasped, grabbing her things and jumping out her open window. In that instant, her powers lifted her against the pull of gravity and projected her high into the sky. Scanning the horizon, she caught sight of the tower and flew towards it without a second thought. “Is that where you are? Are you heading over there? _Talk_ to me, Peter!”

“I’m heading somewhere close to there!”

“Wh-? Why on Earth-? No, there’s no time. What street, Peter?”

“No, you need to-”

“Peter, I’m a _fugitive_ ,” she stated, her path slightly detering as she scanned the area for any racing and unstable cars he might be driving, given the sound through the phone. “If I went there, they’d have to shoot me on sight, or at least attempt to capture me alive.”

“Morgan, please,” he begged. There was a slight pause on both ends, a moment of silence as he waited for her reply.

She let out a long, exhausted breath.

“Alright, Peter,” she conceded, struggling internally against the desire to refuse and instead go to his aid, “but promise me one thing. Stay _alive_.”

“I promise.”

~

Her phone buzzed constantly in her pocket, stopping for just a few seconds before ringing again. When the coast was clear, she finally picked up.

“I’m a bit busy right now!” Morgan whispered, practically hissing, into the phone.

“Morgan? Are you alright?” Steve’s voice answered back, clearly concerned. “You usually pick up my calls right away. Is something wrong?”

“Just a sec, Steve,” she sighed and then stuck her head out of the plane from the hole that the winged-man had created.“When I said, ‘Stay alive,’ I didn’t mean for you to be _clinging onto a flying plane for your life_!” Morgan shouted, trying to be heard, as Peter dangerously swung with the heavy bombardment of wind.

“What?!” Steve questioned back, but she ignored him and focused on the kid.

It was surprisingly easy for her to sneak onto the ship unnoticed. Tony wasn’t there, nor were any of the other remaining Avengers, so her main troubles were not going to be an issue. However, when she was successfully stowed in the carrier, she was at a loss for what to do. Morgan had no idea how to override the coordinates nor did she know how to fly a plane. In fact, she didn’t even know if Peter had already defeated the villain and if her presence here was actually necessary. That is, until the winged man phased through the floor of the jet with the alien technology she heard about from Peter.

“We need to get his wings off the jet!” Peter instructed as he desperately kicked at the metal that latched onto the carrier.

“Got it!” Morgan nodded, blood rushing to her head since she had been talking with Peter upside down.

It felt strange, having her body phase through solid matter, but she disregarded it and focused on the wings. However, before she could even send out her powers, it spread out its metallic feathers and flew off by itself.

“Okay, I don’t know what just happened, but the wings are off the carrier!” She called out. “Now _what_ is going on?!”

“That’s what _I’d_ like to know, Morgan!” Steve scolded, but she couldn’t even hear him since she no longer had the phone to her ear.

“Just a typical homecoming,” he grunted, making his way further up the plane, “on the outside of an invisible jet- Ah!” One hand stuck firmly to the carrier while the other slipped, forcing him to flip over with his back now to the aircraft. Morgan’s heart almost stopped, her eyes glued to him for fear that he would fall to his death. “-fighting my girlfriend’s dad!”

“You’re insa- Wait… You have a _girlfrie_ -” Morgan began but then caught sight of something glinting in the distance. “Oh, my God! _Duck_!” She screamed just as a figure came barreling at him.

He looked forward, shooting out his web towards the attacker, and dodged the oncoming attack. When the winged man flew past, Spider-Man let go of the jet and was yanked through the air by the web. In that moment, he shot out another web, which was propelled by the wind, and successfully stuck onto the jet. However, it wasn’t the smartest plan since he was stuck between the two and was being forcefully pulled in one direction. Yelling out in pain, Peter strained to keep his grip on both webbings as the villain recoiled backwards from the opposite pull of force.

“Cap, talk later!” Morgan yelled into her phone, not waiting for a response as she quickly hung up.

It was too early to be relieved, because the moment Peter’s plan started working, a panel of the plane that his webbing latched onto tore off. The winged villain and Peter were thrown off as the aircraft came closer to the two of them. Spider-Man yelled out in panic as he fell towards the jet turbines, the winding propellers spinning dangerously fast for comfort.

“Spider-Man!”

Morgan sent out her power the same time he shot out his webs at the turbines. It would have been too hard to protect him from the damage, so she decided to prevent him from getting sucked in altogether. Rather than drape his body in her barrier-like energy, she instead intertwined her powers with the webbing to remain firm as he slammed into the material before he could get caught in the jet. The winged man, on the other hand, was not so lucky.

“Whew,” Peter sighed, “I can’t believe that worked!”

“Don’t relax too soon!” Morgan warned, keeping her eye on the over-burning machinery. “Pete- Spider-Man, quick! Grab onto something el-!”

Before she could finish, the turbine broke free and he cried out in alarm. The webbing clung to the detached metal and he quickly grabbed hold of the carrier, kicking off the engine from the sticky web before it could take him with it.

Not even a moment to take a breath, the villain returned and made a swing for Peter’s head. He dodged, and the two toiled around the top of the aircraft. It tore apart under their wild fighting and Morgan knew she couldn’t just observe any longer. Making her way back inside, she tried to go for the controls, but nothing made sense and no amount of button-pressing could do her any good.

_Shit!_ She internally screamed and abandoned that plan, joining Spider-Man above the plane.

“Oh, my God!” Peter gasped just as she used her powers to cling to the top of the unsteady jet. Looking at where he was staring, she almost fell off from the shock of where they were all headed.

“I can’t steer the plane from inside!” Morgan screamed over the wind, New York getting dangerously close.

“Then we’ll have to turn it from the outside!” Peter answered.

~

The wing broke off after colliding with a building and the jet hurtling its way back down to Earth. There was no way of stopping it. Everything slowed down as the descent towards the ground inched closer. Cold sweat dripped down her back as she looked over at Peter. It was risky, but what other choice did she have?

Morgan leaped out and grabbed onto Peter, covering him with her own body. Her powers shot out and encased them in its protective barrier as the plane crashed onto the ground. Fire blazed everywhere as the whole thing broke apart on impact, destroying both the inside and outside of the carrier. Being made in a hurried fashion, her barrier was not powerful enough to leave them unscathed.

Her body was covered in bruises, the two of them slamming hard into the earth as Morgan’s shell could no longer hold. She went limp, her hold on the disoriented Peter loosening as she slipped in and out of consciousness. He groaned, slowly getting up from her arms, his ears unable to hear from the loud explosion, when something slammed into him and made him tumble backwards.

“Peter!” Morgan yelled out his name as she finally came to. She winced at the aching in her body, but she refocused on the battle that was happening right before her.

She sent out another wave of energy, this time draping over Peter’s body as it protected him from the blunt of the man’s fists. With each swing that hit Peter, her hands bruised more and more. On the other hand, this was nothing compared to the inordinate level of devastation caused by Vision’s attack. With that in mind, she focused her abilities to be knit more tightly around Spider-Man, the more solid protection easing the damage she took on her palms. Still, her body had not recovered from the damage of the crash and she trembled all over just to sit up straight.

Because of Morgan’s powers, Peter wasn’t getting too physically hurt by the onslaught of attacks but he was still being jostled around. His moment of confusion had prevented him from properly fighting back against the winged man. As the villain brought Peter up with his wing, he looked past the kid and towards a box that littered the floor with what looked like Stark’s arc reactors that powered his suits.

“Bingo.” The man grinned as he dropped Peter, took off his menacing helmet, and made his way over to the box.

“Stop!” Morgan commanded as she picked herself off the ground and was about to rush towards him when someone else’s voice drowned out her own.

“Your wingsuit,” Peter panted before raising his voice in warning, “Your wingsuit’s gonna explode!”

“What?!” Morgan gasped as he shot out a web to prevent the man from flying off.

“Time to go home, Pete,” the villain sneered, turning back to the boy who desperately tried to prevent the man from flying away.

“I’m trying to save you!” he yelled back, pleading for the winged villain to listen to what he was saying.

Ignoring the warnings, he snipped the webbing that clung to the box he held and was about to make a run for it when the sound of an over-buring engine filled the air. Sparks flew off the metal wings in all directions and Morgan sent out her energy, wrapping it around the man, just before the explosion went off.

The blast sent the villain crashing down, his wings torn up and useless, and Peter rushed into the flames to hopefully save the man. He hissed in pain at the touch of the hot metal that lay atop the fallen villain but withstood the pain. Morgan extinguished some of the flames around them, sucking away the oxygen and letting them die out, as Peter and the once-winged man made their way out to safety.

When he finally placed the man down, he gathered his breath, and then hurried off to find any containers that may have survived the crash. Anything that was still intact was rounded up and webbed together, including the villain, before the sound of sirens inched closer.

With that, the two took off. He was out of webbing, so Morgan helped him out and together they settled on top of a roller coaster that was closed for the night. The two caught their breathes, finally relaxing their sore muscles, and sighed out the exhaustion that encompassed their bodies.

During that whole battle, Morgan didn’t have the energy to question Peter’s actions. Given his current costume and his heroic deeds, she already guessed that he tried his best, regardless of Tony’s approval. That was what he needed to learn. To take action not to show off his abilities, or prove himself worthy, but for the betterment of the people. Now that he had learned that, it was probably time for her to leave. But… Did she really have to go so soon?

_Well, maybe I could stay for just a bit more. Steve wouldn’t mind, would he?_

“Peter?” Morgan weakly called, finally breaking the silence as they both gazed out into the city lights of New York.

_I’m going to be sore in the morning_ , she internally groaned.

“Hmm?” He responded with a hum, staring blankly in front of him.

“Take care of yourself, okay?” She smiled and ruffled his already messed up hair.

It was covered in ash and dirt, clinging onto the fabric of her irreparable gloves, but she didn’t mind.

“What?” He asked, turning to Morgan with his full attention. “You’re leaving?”

“Yep,” she chuckled, imagining how Steve must have reacted during their brief chat. Knowing him, he was already on his way. A bit lost in thought, she didn’t notice Peter’s changing expression.

“Oh,” he said, at a loss for words. His tone snapped her out of her thoughts and she quickly looked back at him.

_Hmmm_ , she mused a bit mischievously, _did he misunderstand me?_

“What? Is Spidey gonna miss me?” She teased, but he just brought his knees to his chest and rested his chin on them, not laughing in the slightest.

“Yeah, I will miss you,” he sighed and hugged his knees. She couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty at his lonely expression. They had gotten close over the past few days. Of course it would be sad if a friend was leaving so soon.

“Hey, I never said I was leaving Queens, did I?”

He looked up at her, his eyes lighting up at her implications, and she gave him a quick smile before taking off.

~

“How’s Bucky?” Morgan asked as Steve helped her clean up a few things in her temporary place.

She had finished filling Steve in on everything that had happened before and after their previous call and though he didn’t want to leave her alone with Tony knowing she was somewhere in New York, she was too stubborn to be persuaded. Instead, he decided to help her tidy up before taking off back to where he had just come from.

“He’s good,” he replied as he lifted the boxes of junk like they weighed nothing.

_That’s a supersoldier for you._

“That’s good.” She nodded as they made their way outside. Once the trash was taken out, they walked up to the roof of the apartment building.

“Oh, that reminds me,” he said, rummaging through his jacket pocket, “this is for you.” He passed her a thin container that was designed to look like a nicely wrapped box. “I owed you a pair.”

She took the box, opening the lid, and gasped. There, sitting nicely on some sort of felt or velvet cloth, were sleek, black gloves. The material resembled the panther suit she had seen King T'Challa wearing. When she lifted them out of the box, she was amazed by how smooth and delicate, yet sturdy, the gloves felt in her hands. In fact, they felt almost like silk and were as light as air.

As she turned them over, she was delightfully surprised by the plain, yet adorable, image. Just like the Black Panther, her gloves were similar to a cat. Though his was more intimidating and fierce, hers was more subtle and cute. There, intricately incorporated into the middle of the palms of each glove, was a single paw print woven in with some sort of golden material. It didn’t stick out of the glove, hindering the effectiveness of it, but it did add a bit more flare to the overall design. It was simple, practical, and very beautiful.

“Oh, my God,” Morgan breathed out and carefully slipping off her dirty gloves to put the new ones on. “Where did you get these?”

They were indeed amazing. The moment she slipped them on, they adjusted to her size and fit her as naturally as another layer of skin. She just knew she would forget she was wearing gloves at all.

“From Shuri, T’Challa’s little sister,” he explained, relieved to see that Morgan liked them. “I think you’d like Wakanda a lot,” Steve smiled, making one last attempt to convince her, but she stopped him with an exasperated stare. “Can’t blame me for trying,” he chuckled. “Just stay safe, alright?”

“Roger that, Rogers,” she answered with a playful salute, grinning and marveling at the material when her phone buzzed.

“A text?” He asked, their hair flying everywhere as the Wakandan ship made itself visible for the him to get in. “Who’s it from?”

She smiled at the name on the screen, chuckling to herself at the eager, and rather long, message.

“A friend.”


	10. Anomaly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All seemed peaceful for Morgan. Everything had quieted down since her last adventure with Spider-Man. Little did she know, it was the calm before a storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: This chapter isn't like my other ones, since it doesn't take place in an actual part of the Marvel movies. The scenes, however, are based on the movies - Thor Ragnarok & Spider-Man: Homecoming.  
> There will be some moments where Morgan experiences a panic attack. Since this was based on my own experiences with panic attacks, I hope no one feels offended by how I describe it.

It had been about a year since her encounter with Spider-Man. **  
**

Morgan had finally settled to life in New York, enjoying the lively atmosphere and often exploring around without too many worries. Her capture wasn’t exactly a priority, like Captain America or Wanda Maximoff would be, so she didn’t have to be wary of who could find her. In addition, Tony seemed to be helping behind the scenes, erasing any digital trail she may have left behind. She could never confirm his involvement, but she suspected it to be him nonetheless.

Spider-Man would visit frequently, the two sometimes just hanging out as he asked all kinds of questions about the Avengers. At first, he was so caught up with her new gloves that he sometimes forgot she even existed. He got so wrapped up, practically begging her to borrow it for closer examination, but it soon died down.

After that, he would go fight crime and she would sometimes tag along. Nothing too serious happened since then, so he could handle most of it alone. Morgan was just there for any damage control, helping him be more efficient during fights. Ned would sometimes also come over with Peter when the two needed a place to work on both actual school projects and other side “projects” without the watching eyes of their guardians. Overall, it was very peaceful.

Everything seemed to be going great until one day… Well, it was one of the worst days Morgan had experienced in her life.

The day started off normal. She had woken up early, a bit before her alarm, and was feeling energized to just go out and explore more of New York. Then, something completely unexpected happened.

While walking down the somewhat empty streets, the sun barely making its way up in the sky, a strange, orange glowing circle appeared on the ground around her. A bit panicked, the sparks of light dangerously close to her ankles, she jumped away from the center of the circle. Without someone in the middle of it, it quickle fizzled out and was gone.

_What the hell?_

She peered over at the empty sidewalk, examining it closely, but it showed no signs of charring from the odd occurance. Then, it happened again. The same circle appeared under her, but this time it was faster. Morgan felt gravity pull her down as the ground below her just vanished.

The sensation reminded her of the wormhole back on Sakaar, the flashes of memories jolting her with fear and adrenaline. Her breathing accelerated and her hair stood on end as power welled up inside her and exploded her upwards with incredible force, away from the portal. Just like before, the circle vanished when she no longer stood atop it.

_No, no, no, no, no_ , Morgan chanted again and again.

Panic became hysteria as she trembled all over. The fact that she was completely exposing her abilities in public, regardless of the lack of people, didn’t even register in her mind. All she could think of was how she didn’t want to go back to that alien planet. There was no telling how long she’d be stuck in that wretched place again, if she was sent there at all. She might not even be able to return to Earth like last time. Morgan was lucky when Loki and Thor ended up there. If she got sent there again, it could possibly be forever. And, if the Grandmaster still ruled and remembered her, she wouldn’t be safe.

_Take a breath. Panicking will get you nowhere. Breathe!_

A few seconds passed by. Then a minute. After a couple of minutes of waiting the circle still did not reappear. Her breathing settled somewhat and her heartbeat returned to its normal pace. Though adrenaline still pulsed through her, making her uncomfortable with the excess energy, she was too scared to completely calm down.

_It’s okay_ , she tried to tell herself, _It could be nothing. Wormholes don’t usually appear in the middle of the ground, right?_

But how was she supposed to know? That time on Sakaar, a wormhole just suddenly emerged and sucked her away from her friends and onto Earth. Thankfully, she ended up where she wanted to be, but that was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Out of the infinite possibilities, it was highly unlikely that she would be that lucky again.

However, as she was carefully thinking about all her options while hovering in the air, those same sparks flew out to right beside her. The shock of it startled her so much that the hold on her powers faltered and she began to fall dangerously fast.

_Shit!_

It wasn’t a fatal height, but it was enough to do some serious damage. She braced for impact, her muscles tensing at the expected solid ground, but then the falling didn’t stop. Morgan could already surmise what had happened, the odd portal strangely targeting her, but she was too scared to open her eyes to confirm it. Still, the familiar feeling of nausea was enough for her to know what happened without seeing for herself.

_I don’t want to go!_

~

“Ah, you’re awake,” an unfamiliar voice called out as Morgan finally opened her eyes.

Everything was unfamiliar. The ceiling. The floor. The walls. The bed. Everything… They were all things she’d never seen before. Her heart raced as the events of what happened flooded back to her and her breathing became erratic. Tears filled her eyes and she couldn’t even focus on the person beside her. She couldn’t control her body as it trembled, her body feeling unnaturally cold as the blood drained from her. Reality was slipping from her and she began to hyperventilate, when something brushed against her hand.

“Shhh,” the stranger soothed, his gloved hand gently squeezing her own, “You’re alright. You’re okay. Just take a deep breath.”

Morgan finally turned to the speaker. Even he was unfamiliar. He had white streaks on both sides of his hair, contrasting with his normal full head of black. The lighting was dim, so it was hard to focus. Everything about him seemed elegant, but most importantly… _Human_. He appeared to be human. Though the thought should have reassured her, many people on Sakaar _looked_ human. His clothes certainly didn’t resemble the fashion sense of Earth that she knew of. Still, not knowing was worse than knowing, since the imagination could be scarier than the truth. If she wanted to finally rid herself of this anxiety, she’d have to ask that dreaded, awful question.

“W-where…” She choked a bit, unable to form words as tears spilled from her eyes. Shuting them tight and taking in a breath, she tried again. “Where am I?”

“New York,” he answered, his stern features softening, “Earth, year 2017.”

It took her a moment for the words to sink in. New York. 2017. Earth.

Morgan’s body crumpled back in relief and the tears flooded like a broken dam. She covered her face in her hands, unable to stop herself from crying as the fear of being on another alien planet eased away from her. Sobs escaped from her as the sounds filled the near silent room. The man beside her just sat there, patiently waiting for her.

She wasn’t back on Sakaar. She wasn’t trapped on a foreign planet. She wasn’t sent to another place in time. She was still in New York. She was still on _Earth_.

It surprised Morgan how much the many years stranded on Sakaar had damaged her. Of course it was a scarring experience, but it never hindered her this much over the years she had returned to Earth. The memories resurfaced from time to time, often in the form of a nightmare, but they never bothered her to this extent.

“Who are you?” Morgan asked when she finally cooled down and recalled that she wasn’t alone in this strange room. Her eyes were still red and most likely puffy from all the crying, but he didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he was very calm, which helped her to feel a bit more at peace.

“My name is Doctor Stephen Strange.”

~

“You’re a what?”

Stephen had finished explaining where she was, why she was here, and how he had brought her there. He seemed to think that all of this was quite easy to comprehend, but a world of magic was just a bit difficult to believe. If he was categorized as a god or an alien, perhaps it would have been easier, but him being a normal human… Now that was hard to wrap her head around.

“I am the master of the mystic arts,” he repeated, “and I brought you here because I sensed an anomaly around you.”

“Look, Mister-”

“ _Doctor_ ,” Strange interrupted her, adamant on getting that title across.

“ _Doctor_ ,” she corrected, a bit drained from everything that went on, “I just experienced hell and now you want me to believe all this magic stuff?”

Honestly, she wanted to be mad. She wanted to be furious and throw a tantrum at the man who had caused her so much distress, but she was also tired. She was so exhausted due to all the change that went through her life, every bad experience just crashing back on her in that moment of hopelessness, that she just couldn’t muster up the energy to fight this man. He was a stranger to her. It was fine to leave it at that, wasn’t it?

“I just want to go home. Maybe take a nap. Can I go now?”

“Miss Nite,” the man replied, his expression serious and unchanging, “I keep tabs on everything that may be a threat to this world, but when you entered my city, there was just something _off_.”

“Off?” Morgan couldn’t even gather enough energy to feel offended.

“It’s as if the time around you is distorted,” Stephen clarified, trying to keep it simple so as to not confuse her. It didn’t really work.

Noticing her blank expression, he waved a hand in front of her, and a strange tingle prickled at her. She looked down at her own arms and noticed something rippling off her skin in almost transparent waves. It felt a bit odd, and she tried to touch whatever it was, but her hands just phased through them.

“W-what the-? What is this?” Morgan questioned, goosebumps forming at the intangibility of it.

“Thirty… No, twenty… Eight?” He muttered as he examined the ripples, his hand resting under his chin in thought, “Yes. Twenty-eight.”

“Excuse me?”

“You are off this timeline by twenty-eight years.”

It was then that it clicked. Morgan now knew exactly what he meant by _off_ and _anomaly_. She didn’t know how he knew, but it seemed he was talking about her years on Sakaar. Still, she didn’t know this man. In fact, because of the stunt he just pulled, she didn’t trust him either. Why should she answer any of his questions?

“Ah, so that’s what happened,” Stephen nodded before she could even say a word. He leaned back in his chair, taking a sip of tea that seemed to appear out of thin air. “Well, nothing I can do about that. Strange, but harmless. I apologize for wasting your time.”

“Wait-”

But before she could finish, everything around her blurred. In the blink of an eye, a room full of old books, ancient artifacts, and elegant decor was replaced with the busy, bustling streets of New York. People walked around her, not even noticing that she had appeared out of nowhere.

She felt a bit queasy, the feeling of being transported from one location to another making her recall those wormholes and portals, but she swallowed back the nausea and blinked a couple more times. The sun was now high in the sky, showing how much time had passed. Its bright light made her eyes sting, since they had been adjusted to the dim lighting of that strange room. Shaking off the sick feeling, she gave up the idea of getting answers and simply let the matter drop.

“I really hate magic,” she grumbled, her mood fouled by the whole event as she finally arrived home and flopped onto her bed.

“Now that seems a bit harsh,” a coy voice whispered into her ear, making her jump back in alarm.

The man who stood before her was all too familiar. The years didn’t erase the memory of him, the image etched into her brain from all the rage she had felt for him that day. Without thinking on it for another second, her fist flew towards him, aimed directly at his face. However, her hand merely phased through the figure, his nose uninjured, as she stumbled forward from the lack of impact.

“Hello to you too, Morgan.”

“Go to Hell, Loki.”

~

“Yes, the second-rate sorcerer,” Loki huffed, his brows furrowing slightly at the memory, “I must remember to pay him back someday.”

Morgan had given in once she realized he would not leave her alone.

He had sent a copy of himself onto Earth, admiring the “foolish actions of Midgardians” whenever he was bored, when he had happened upon her. Of course he was not looking for her, not even knowing that she was back on Earth and not with Thor, but he couldn’t pass up this opportunity to mess with her. Besides, he had some free time.

“You know Doctor Strange?”

She had known Loki for a few weeks back on Sakaar and though their relationship was far from friendship, it wasn’t as small as an acquaintanceship. They grew to tolerate one another, especially in the face of the Grandmaster, so of course they could hold a conversation. However, that became a bit awkward after Loki’s little mind tricks he had casted around the time of Thor’s arrival on the alien planet. Still, she hadn’t seen him in years. If she couldn’t forgive this god, then she could at least hold out so that she could find out how Thor was doing after all this time.

“We had a brief encounter,” he scowled at the memory and quickly pushed it aside before it could ruin his good mood, “but enough about me. I’m more curious on why you’re on Earth and not with my brother.”

“Wait, are you with him right now?” Morgan asked, sitting up on her bed and following Loki with her eyes as he wandered around her apartment.

“No, I am with a more… _Rambunctious_ bunch,” he chuckled a bit dryly, clearly unamused by the company around him, wherever he may be. “Just some rebels rallied together to go help save Asgard from Ragnarok.”

That made her freeze. She had forgotten that she had been thrown back in time from that day on Sakaar. In Thor’s perspective, she must have been sucked up by that wormhole just mere minutes or hours ago. Not even a day must have passed by since then.

“Okay,” Morgan said, nodding as she took it all in. He was curious when he examined her reactions, but wasn’t too interested on what was buzzing through her head. As he was hundreds of years older than any Midgardian, he assumed her thoughts were just as insignificant. “So that means Thor made it off of Sakaar, right?”

“Of course,” the God of Mischief was a bit confused. Her question didn’t quite make sense to him and he didn’t like feeling left in the dark. With that, he decided return to his previous question. “Why are you on Earth?”

At first, Morgan was quiet. She wasn’t sure whether or not she should tell Loki about what had happened. First of all, she didn’t like him. Though her feelings towards him weren’t quite hatred, they weren’t very pleasant. Giving this god information was like arming him for battle. Secondly, Morgan enjoyed that slight bit of annoyance that shone on his face. It wasn’t a big win but she considered it one nonetheless.

After a while, Morgan finally gave in and decided to tell him everything. She took a gamble and prayed that he would pass on the information to Thor. He must have been worried about her since she was suddenly taken away. There wasn’t a day that went by that she wasn’t anxiously thinking back on what had happened after that day. Now that Loki was here, during the time where the battle against Hela was upon them, she desperately wanted Thor to know that she was alright and that he didn’t have to concern himself about her. His focus should go solely to his safety and his people. She didn’t want to hinder that.

“I see,” was all Loki said.

He looked bored, silently listening to her ramble on, but she had studied him enough to read him to a certain extent. Though his face portrayed indifference, his eyes sparked as calculations and thoughts raced through his mind. Morgan couldn’t decipher too much, she wasn’t a mind reader after all, but she knew he cared enough to hear her story out. Or at least he cared enough about the information she presented to listen carefully. Hopefully, he would pass on this message to Thor. That was all she could ask for.

Seconds turned to minutes as the silence continued. Surprisingly, the noiseless atmosphere wasn’t as awkward as one would have expected. The two of them were actually used to this, their days in Sakaar making any moment of quiet more blissful than stiff. Then, Loki looked up and glanced at what seemed to be an empty wall.

“Oh, looks like we’ve arrived,” Loki murmured, his image rippling as the main body stirred.

More and more of him started to disappear and for some reason, something within Morgan stirred.

“Loki!”

She called out without thinking. When he stopped fading, returning to a more solid image, and turned to her, more surprised than amused, she nervously bit her lower lip.

“Just…”

Morgan hesitated. She didn’t want him to know she was worried, given that she was still very mad at him, but she couldn’t let these words just be bottled up within her. Regret would consume her if something happen to him in this upcoming battle. They weren’t exactly friends, but how could she, in good conscience, let a man going off into a bloody battle go without settling debts?

If it wasn’t for him and his brother, she would have never escaped the confinements of Sakaar. Though she couldn’t forgive him completely for making her feel so humiliated that time he had forced her to spill her secrets, she still felt grateful to him for bringing a bit of Earth back to her. It must have been a small thing for him to share but to her… It granted her a sliver of hope.

“Just…” She took in a deep breath, steeling her nerves, and looked him in the eyes. Showing no weakness and only speaking the genuine truth, she finished her sentence. “Don’t die.”

His eyes widened, clearly not expecting those words to ever be directed at him.

“Well, not before I can kill you, anyways,” Morgan added with a grin.

A few seconds passed, something clearly happening where his true body was since his image kept flickering, and then, Loki smiled. Though it was that mischievous, signature smile of his, there was a glint that shone in his eyes before he faded away, leaving Morgan all alone in her little apartment.


End file.
